{"id":846343,"date":"2026-09-13T12:28:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846343\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T12:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:28:22","slug":"20-thoughts-from-college-football-week-2-what-do-you-think-of-arch-manning-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846343\/","title":{"rendered":"20 thoughts from college football Week 2: What do you think of Arch Manning now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from college football\u2019s Week 2, where a Texas senator was far more eager for an ESPN interview<\/a> than the Texas football coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Arch Manning<\/a> committed to Texas so long ago \u2014 June 2022 \u2014 that Steve Sarkisian had completed only one season. The five-star QB, with his family\u2019s Pro Football Hall of Fame pedigree, arrived in 2023 only to spend his first season redshirting, then the next one as Quinn Ewers\u2019 backup, as his team reached back-to-back College Football Playoffs. Both he and his adoring public had to practice some old-fashioned patience. When he finally became QB1, only to prove underwhelming for most of the 2025 season, fans were told yet again to be patient: He was a first-year starter.<\/p>\n

Three quarters into Saturday night\u2019s game against No. 1 Ohio State, a whole lot of folks in 100,000-seat Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium were about to lose their patience once and for all. No. 4 Texas was getting creamed, 23-3. Manning, looking just as tentative and uncertain as he did for much of last season, threw for just 60 yards in the first half and led his team past midfield just once in his first seven possessions.<\/p>\n

Then the Horns flipped some magic switch. They scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and stunned the Buckeyes, 24-23<\/a>. Manning went 8-of-11 for 83 yards and a touchdown in that final period. And now I truly have no idea what to think of the guy.<\/p>\n

2. My opinion all offseason was that if Manning had any other last name, he would not be viewed as a short-list Heisman Trophy candidate. My colleagues Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales ranked him No. 7 in their preseason QB tiers<\/a>; Sam had him No. 32 overall in his top 100 players.<\/a> Both seemed reasonable to me for a guy who ranked 42nd in pass efficiency last season. If you missed the game and only looked at his final stats Saturday \u2014 23-of-37 for 196 passing yards and 22 rushing yards \u2014 you might think those rankings were generous.<\/p>\n

But much like in last year\u2019s Black Friday upset of Texas A&M, Manning and the offense woke up just in time. Running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown started gashing an Ohio State defense that may have buckled in the 97-degree Austin heat. A Texas defense that had no answer for Buckeyes stars Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith clamped down and allowed just three first downs in the final period. Manning made some important throws, including fourth-down conversions on two of the three touchdown drives.<\/p>\n

For all the skepticism, Manning now owns four wins over top-10 teams: No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Texas A&M in 2025, and No. 1 Ohio State in \u201926. We\u2019re still a long way from learning his final legacy. We\u2019ll just have to be patient.<\/p>\n

3. Ohio State coach Ryan Day must be sick after that collapse. He and his staff seemed to have every answer for Texas in the first three quarters. But the second half surfaced a familiar script for his star-studded offense, which went quiet in its season-ending losses to Indiana and Miami last season and seemed to be playing not to lose up 23-3. It marked Day\u2019s first September loss since 2021.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019d be silly to dismiss the Buckeyes as national title hopefuls after one bad quarter, the missed opportunity could come back to haunt them given this was just the first of several losable games on their schedule. Road trips to Indiana and USC and home dates with Oregon and Michigan still await. There\u2019s not much margin for error to get to 10 wins and the certain CFP berth that would come with it.<\/p>\n

4. For all the complaining, I\u2019ve long maintained that the transfer portal has made college football more entertaining. Case in point: Oklahoma State, a 4-20 program the past two seasons, knocked off sixth-ranked Oregon<\/a>, a 26-3 program with two CFP appearances over the same period.<\/p>\n

In olden days, Cowboys coach Eric Morris would have come in from North Texas and needed three to four recruiting classes to turn things around, while Oklahoma State fans suffered through a couple more years of blowout losses. Instead, he brought in star QB Drew Mestemaker and 90 other newcomers<\/a>, brushed off a bummer opening loss to Tulsa and delivered a rousing dose of hope by beating the same team that beat the Pokes 69-3 last season, 39-31.<\/p>\n

5. Mestemaker, who struggled in last week\u2019s debut, looked like his North Texas self<\/a>, racking up 426 yards of offense, including a 75-yard run. He led his team to victory despite two costly interceptions: one a pick six, the other returned to the 1-yard line. But no one saw Oklahoma State\u2019s defense coming. The Cowboys smothered Oregon star Dante Moore and held the Ducks\u2019 normally prolific offense to 281 yards. Another Mean Green transfer, fifth-year linebacker Ethan Wesloski, seemed to be everywhere.<\/p>\n

Perhaps with so many newcomers, it was unavoidable that the Cowboys might teeter wildly from one week to the next. Or perhaps Tulsa will prove to be one of the top Group of 6 teams in the country. Either way, Oklahoma State\u2019s eye-opening upset means it has to be taken seriously in the Big 12.<\/p>\n

How did Oklahoma State upset Oregon?<\/p>\n

Sam Khan Jr.<\/p>\n

6. There\u2019s a five-alarm fire in Eugene<\/a>, where the Ducks \u2014 No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll before falling four spots last week \u2014 struggled to survive Boise State in Week 1 and fell to a 23.5-point underdog in Week 2. It was fifth-year coach Dan Lanning\u2019s first loss to an unranked opponent.<\/p>\n

My biggest preseason concern for Oregon \u2014 losing both coordinators \u2014 seems to be coming to fruition. Tosh Lupoi, now the head coach at Cal, was Lanning\u2019s defensive coordinator for four seasons. Despite starting all seniors on the defensive line and at linebacker, that unit has been a shell of itself under promoted safeties coach Chris Hampton. Lanning also elevated tight ends coach Drew Mehringer to replace Will Stein, now the head coach at Kentucky. Oregon ranked in the top 10 in yards per play in each of Lanning\u2019s four seasons; it managed just 4.8 against Oklahoma State.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s Moore, a projected top-five draft pick who returned for another year. He was fantastic last week against Boise State but had his lowest passer rating (126.4) since an 18-16 escape at Iowa on Nov. 5 last season. Oregon will need him back on track in time for what is now a must-win game at USC in two weeks.<\/p>\n

7. My main takeaway from Michigan\u2019s 17-10 upset of No. 11 Oklahoma is that the Wolverines and Sooners are the same exact team, starting with their much-hyped but thus far underwhelming QBs<\/a>. Michigan\u2019s Bryce Underwood, who finished with a 107.8 passer rating, had the highlight of the day with his early 38-yard touchdown run but attempted just four passes in the second half. Oklahoma\u2019s John Mateer, who finished with a 103.6 rating, led a 90-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter but provided the decisive score with his interception in the fourth quarter, which set up a Michigan touchdown two plays later.<\/p>\n

The two QBs \u2014 believed to be making around $6 million between them \u2014 combined for 21 passing yards in the final period.<\/p>\n

But we know both teams have dominant defenses, and with Michigan now 2-0*<\/a>, perhaps the Wolverines can make a Playoff push even with a nonexistent passing game. In fact, there\u2019s a blueprint for them: 2025 Oklahoma, which won 10 games and made the CFP with the 97th-ranked offense but No. 4 defense.<\/p>\n

8. Oklahoma State over Oregon was another lesson in \u201cthe team with the most money doesn\u2019t always win.\u201d Oregon State almost delivered an even starker one.<\/p>\n

The Beavers, with their couch-cushion G6 roster, gave 13th-ranked Texas Tech all it could handle, leading 24-21 deep into the fourth quarter before the Red Raiders scored two touchdowns to win 35-24. Oregon State, which went 2-10 last season and fired coach Trent Bray, has been much more competitive so far against Big 12 foes Houston and Texas Tech. A big reason why: sensational freshman receiver Jesse Legree. The unheralded Baltimore native, whom new coach JaMarcus Shephard landed at the 11th hour last winter, followed up a 136-yard debut last week with a staggering eight catches for 240 yards and two TDs against Texas Tech. It was the most receiving yards by a Football Bowl Subdivision freshman in five years.<\/p>\n

9. In his first SEC road start at Kentucky, Alabama QB Keelon Russell threw two first-half interceptions, including a tipped pick six \u2014 and it didn\u2019t matter. The Tide scored 32 unanswered points in the second half to win 45-17, thanks to a suffocating defense and the first career 100-yard game for junior RB Daniel Hill. Linebacker Luke Metz, who had a 34-yard pick six, and fellow inside linebacker Caleb Woodson, a transfer from Virginia Tech, have emerged as important playmakers for Kane Wommack\u2019s retooled unit, which so far looks more like a typical Bama defense than the one that got run over by Georgia and Indiana to end last season.<\/p>\n

10. In the Big 12\u2019s first conference game of the season, BYU sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier outshone Arizona veteran Noah Fifita in a 28-17 win. Last year\u2019s freshman starter for an 11-win BYU team already looks noticeably crisper and more accurate. He threw three touchdowns and hit freshman receiver\/All-Name Team candidate Legend Glasker on a 61-yard deep ball to help No. 15 BYU pull away in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

After getting our first meaningful look at BYU, next week brings another notable Big 12 clash on Friday night: No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech.<\/p>\n

11. Nick Saban seems to have a recurring bit these days poking at the Big Ten, saying this week, \u201cWe\u2019ve (yes, he calls the SEC, \u2018We\u2019) already got nine teams in the Top 25. It\u2019s not like the Big Ten who has three good teams at the top and then nothing.\u201d But the Big Ten pretty much proved his lack-of-depth argument Saturday, starting with the fact that Mississippi State (picked 15th out of 16 in the SEC\u2019s preseason media poll) went on the road and stomped perennial bowl team Minnesota 38-13.<\/p>\n

Coach Jeff Lebby\u2019s Bulldogs have a breakout star on their hands in sophomore QB Kamario Taylor, who threw three touchdowns and ran for 86 yards against the Gophers and now has seven TDs and no picks on the season. Mississippi State teased with a Week 2 upset of Arizona State last season but still finished 5-8. That was before Taylor took over at quarterback late in the year.<\/p>\n

\"Kamario<\/p>\n

\n Kamario Taylor has been an early standout so far this season. (Nick Wosika \/ USA Today via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n

12. The ACC did a number on the Big Ten\u2019s middle\/lower class. Defending champion Duke, which came into the season with low expectations after losing star QB Darian Mensah to Miami, pulled off a 31-27 upset at Illinois. Mensah\u2019s 11th-hour replacement, San Jose State transfer Walker Eget, threw three touchdowns. Veteran running back Nate Sheppard followed up a 35-carry, 227-yard day in Duke\u2019s opening win over Tulane with 147 yards on 24 carries Saturday.<\/p>\n

Rebuilding Purdue showed progress in taking Wake Forest to double overtime at home, but the Demon Deacons prevailed 38-36. New Wake Forest QB Gio Lopez has been solid in both games so far, looking noticeably more comfortable than he did in his lone season playing for Bill Belichick at North Carolina. And Boston College beat downtrodden Rutgers on Friday to complete a 3-0 ACC-Big Ten faceoff.<\/p>\n

13. Arizona State-Texas A&M was mostly even for three quarters, until the Aggies\u2019 defense blew the doors off with two pick sixes and a forced fumble in the span of six Sun Devils snaps to run away 48-20<\/a>. If you\u2019re an A&M fan, you might be mildly concerned that your team got outgained 369-255, due in large part to an underwhelming rushing attack. A&M had to replace four offensive line starters, all of whom were drafted. Coach Mike Elko replaced them with four SEC transfers, but their first P4 contest was a mixed bag.<\/p>\n

14. I had Iowa State-Iowa on my second screen opposite Texas-Ohio State for most of the second half, and there were times when I wondered whether the feed had been frozen for 10 minutes. The score rarely changed. Iowa eventually took home the Cy-Hawk Trophy<\/a> with a late 42-yard field goal to win 16-13. It\u2019s somehow the third straight year that an in-state walk-on kicker from Iowa won the state\u2019s rivalry game.<\/p>\n

Despite the disappointing ending, Jimmy Rogers\u2019 Cyclones showed they can still be competitive even after the roster wipeout that ensued when Matt Campbell took the Penn State job. Their leading rusher Saturday, third-year Aiden Flora, is one of the rare Campbell holdovers.<\/p>\n

15. Tennessee\u2019s freshman QB starter Faizon Brandon picked up a Power 4 road win at Georgia Tech, 45-24, though DeSean Bishop and the Vols\u2019 running backs did much of the heavy lifting, rushing for nearly 300 yards. Tennessee\u2019s defense made life miserable for Yellow Jackets QB Alberto Mendoza, whose team lost its second straight home game to start the season. Brent Key\u2019s team is clearly missing departed star QB Haynes King and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who\u2019s now at Florida.<\/p>\n

16. Former Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons got Wally Pipp\u2019d last season when he got hurt in the second game and watched then-unknown Trinidad Chambliss seize his job. But he seems to be fitting in nicely at his new school, Missouri, throwing three touchdowns Friday in the Tigers\u2019 38-21 Border War<\/a> win over Kansas. He was a sharp contrast to new Kansas starter Isaiah Marshall, who went 13-of-30, threw two interceptions and got sacked four times. Not a good sign for Lance Leipold\u2019s Jayhawks as they attempt to right themselves following back-to-back 5-7 seasons.<\/p>\n

17. G6 Playoff contender Boise State followed up its near-upset of Oregon with a convincing 38-20 win over another G6 contender, Memphis. A lot of defenses will have their hands full this season with the running back tandem of Dylan Riley (206 yards) and Sire Gaines (93). The Broncos will face another G6 challenger in two weeks when they visit none other than Western Michigan.<\/p>\n

One preseason G6 darling we can safely rule out: UNLV. New coach Neal Brown\u2019s North Texas team humiliated Dan Mullen\u2019s Rebels 44-6, dropping them to 1-2. UNLV was the preseason Mountain West favorite, but the most impressive team in that conference so far is FBS newcomer North Dakota State, now 3-0 after beating Air Force 38-32 in its first conference game.<\/p>\n

18. First-year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield took over a team that went 2-10 last season under Sam Pittman (five games) and Bobby Petrino (seven), and he\u2019s believed to have the lowest-paid roster in the SEC. So it\u2019s hardly surprising the Razorbacks looked even worse than last year in a 43-10 beatdown at Utah. Neither QB KJ Jackson nor AJ Hill could ignite an offense that struggled to run the ball even last week against North Alabama. Whereas first-year Utes head coach Morgan Scalley successfully retained star QB Devon Dampier, who was ruthless Saturday night.<\/p>\n

19. New Cal coach Tosh Lupoi got his first ACC win thanks in large part to one of his former Oregon defensive players. Third-year safety Kingston Lopa picked off Syracuse QB Steve Angeli three times, including a go-ahead pick six with 4:51 left and another in the last minute to seal a 21-18 Bears victory. Lopa also had an interception in Cal\u2019s Week 1 loss to UCLA and leads his team in tackles with 11. Quite the coming-out party for a guy who barely cracked the Ducks\u2019 rotation in his first two seasons.<\/p>\n

20. Finally, we\u2019re only a week away from Armageddon in Oxford, Miss. Lane Kiffin\u2019s current team, LSU, started slow against Louisiana Tech before pulling away 45-10, while his former team, Ole Miss, handled Charlotte 41-9.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not uncommon to see coaches face their former teams, there\u2019s never been anything quite like this: A coach who ditched his team on the brink of its Playoff appearance, who poached several of its best players, who told Vanity Fair<\/a> that a history of racist segregation in Mississippi cost him recruits and who has since ticked off the entire SEC is coming back to Oxford just three games into the season.<\/p>\n

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium seats 64,000, but I suspect it\u2019s going to sound like 164,000 come Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Read CFB Week 2 winners and losers<\/a> and check out our comprehensive coverage page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And now, 20 Final Thoughts from college football\u2019s Week 2, where a Texas senator was far more eager…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1603,19503,43942,40544,10779,1607,7091,399,13427,1774,1777,19504,1783,398,396,397,1776,1232,5693,99,19501,1784,5690,13419,8390,3679],"class_list":["post-846343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-arkansas-razorbacks","tag-boise-state-broncos","tag-byu-cougars","tag-california-golden-bears","tag-college-football","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-football","tag-iowa-hawkeyes","tag-kansas-jayhawks","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-mississippi-state-bulldogs","tag-missouri-tigers","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-oklahoma-state-cowboys","tag-oregon-ducks","tag-sports","tag-tennessee-volunteers","tag-texas-am-aggies","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-texas-tech-red-raiders","tag-utah-utes","tag-wake-forest-demon-deacons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}