The Arch Manning era at Texas is officially set to begin – and ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes it could have started with a bang much sooner.
With Quinn Ewers now off to the NFL, Manning has been named the starting quarterback for the Longhorns heading into the 2025 season.
His debut as QB1 will come on college football’s biggest opening-weekend stage: a primetime Big Noon showdown against defending national champion Ohio State on August 30 at The Horseshoe.
Speaking on SportsCenter, Finebaum didn’t hold back his enthusiasm for the change under center in Austin.
The veteran SEC analyst even went so far as to suggest that Texas could have potentially won the national title last season had they made a quarterback switch to Manning.
Of course, Texas fell to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl CFP semifinal, 28-14, in a game that unraveled late thanks to costly mistakes from Ewers.
“There is nothing finer than Arch Manning starting at Texas. It’s long overdue,” Finebaum said. “I think Arch Manning should have come in in the Cotton Bowl loss to Ohio State, and I think there’s a chance that that game could have gone differently.
“But he is going to bring Texas within a whisker of perhaps another run at a national championship.”
Last season, Ewers threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns in that loss, but also turned the ball over twice in the closing minutes.
A fumble and interception on consecutive drives were returned for touchdowns by the Buckeyes, blowing open what had been a 14-14 deadlock late in the fourth quarter.
Manning did see limited action in 2024, stepping in while Ewers was sidelined due to injury. In those three games, he posted 806 passing yards, eight touchdowns through the air, and two more on the ground – all in winning efforts.
Despite the flashes of brilliance, he has yet to face a top-tier opponent as a starter.
Finebaum, however, remains confident in the legacy quarterback’s trajectory. Last year, he predicted a Heisman future for Manning.
More recently, he compared Manning’s potential impact in college football to Tim Tebow’s championship-winning run at Florida.
Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, now gets the opportunity to live up to that hype in the most high-profile way possible: taking on Ohio State in Columbus to kick off the 2025 season.
As Steve Sarkisian transitions his offense from the polished Ewers to the much-anticipated Manning, expectations remain sky-high in Austin.
For Finebaum and much of the Longhorns’ fanbase, this change isn’t just welcome, it’s long overdue.
What are your thoughts on the official start of the Arch Manning era in Austin?
Do you agree with Finebaum that Texas could have won the national championship last season had they had Manning under center???
