National reaction to Texas’ comeback win over Ohio State: ‘Can’t ever count out a Manning’<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s a loser\u2019s take,\u201d Sark said, smiling. \u201cWinners win, baby. They didn\u2019t hire me to keep it close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hired me to win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until Saturday, Sark\u2019s signature win had come in the 38-24 upset of No. 1-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2023. That blowout gave the program credibility. Might have given Nick Saban ideas about retiring, come to think of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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When I asked Sark if Saturday was his best win at Texas, he said it \u201csurely\u201d was at DKR. But in his six seasons in Austin? Coaches are funny about those things. Like asking a parent which child is your favorite. He wouldn\u2019t go there Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some really big moments,\u201d he said, no doubt thinking of two semifinal appearances, \u201cbut this one is special.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, when you beat the No. 1 team in the country in the fashion that we did, to come back the way that we did, to represent Longhorn nation, to represent the name on our chest, it means a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns holds up his arms to celebrate the game tying touchdown late in the college football game the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 12, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what it meant in the press box: Deadline ledes crashing and burning. Ledes waxing none-too-poetically about how Texas just can\u2019t beat the likes of Ohio State and Georgia. Updates of how Sark would be 0-6 against Kirby Smart and Ryan Day. Storylines detailing how Jeremiah Smith, who caught 164 yards worth of Julian Sayin\u2019s 278 yards passing, was simply too good for Texas and its new\/old defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Muschamp tried giving his corners help in covering Smith, but, in doing so, they couldn\u2019t stop the Buckeyes\u2019 running game. Or make Sayin uncomfortable. So Muschamp made a hard decision. They would cover Smith one-on-one, surely something no NFL team will attempt after Smith goes high in the first round next April.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Crazy thing is, it worked. Bo Mascoe, a senior cornerback, simply got in Smith\u2019s back pocket. Maybe his head, too. Smith all but disappeared in a fourth quarter that belonged to the hosts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manning led Texas on three methodical drives covering nearly 15 minutes of the third and fourth quarters. Completed 11 of his last 15 passes. The first drive ended on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo; the last two on 1-yard runs by Smothers, who finished with 74 yards on 21 carries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remember the old saw about Texas not being able to belly up to the goal line against Ohio State?\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Texas, which was 1-for-4 on red zone trips in its last two games against Ohio State, went 4-for-4 at DKR. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
All of this after Texas’ first two possessions ended with a fumble on the game\u2019s first play, giving Ohio State the ball in the red zone, and an interception by the Buckeyes’ Jaylen McClain, who, until the ball popped out of Cam Coleman\u2019s hands, looked to be beaten for a 40-yard gain. Besides the \u201cinterception,\u201d there was also a dropped pass by Wingo in the end zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, in his coming-of-age game at last, Manning rose above all the noise. The adversity he\u2019s faced since becoming the most over-hyped player in Texas history served him well, his coach said. The legacy didn\u2019t let it get to him Saturday, anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew we were gonna be in it at the end,\u201d Manning said. \u201cIt was a weird start. We didn\u2019t play well at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I did not want to come in here and have y\u2019all tell me we\u2019re bad. I could not let that happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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As a result, nearly matched the program record for fourth-quarter comebacks, a 38-35 win over Oklahoma State in 2007. Texas also earned its sixth win ever over a No. 1 team and its first since beating Oklahoma at the State Fair in 2008. The time before that? A memorable Rose Bowl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sark cautioned the media not to make too much of this particular chapter of history. Still got a long way to go, he said. No doubt. Just the same, the Longhorns came a long way Saturday. More than just the 20 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, center, celebrates Texas’ win over Ohio State in an NCAA college football game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[732,27,29,28,120897,88145,106149],"class_list":["post-434521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-article","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tp-arch-manning","tag-tp-colleges","tag-tp-steve-sarkisian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}