COLUMBUS — Texas quarterback Arch Manning came into Ohio Stadium Saturday as the Heisman Trophy favorite, spearheading the No. 1 team in the nation.
He left The Horseshoe 0-1 on the season after a 14-7 loss to No. 2 Ohio State, which dealt yet another reality check to the perpetually overrated Southeastern Conference.
The surprising outcome also had Buckeye fans waving good riddance to departed defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, now at Penn State, and singing the praises of a superior replacement in former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Despite replacing eight starters, the OSU defense heroically controlled the flow of the game throughout, anchored by junior safety Caleb Downs.
“He was unbelievable back there as a field general,” Patricia said of Downs. “Guys stepped up to the challenge all the way across the board.”
The most crucial aspects were two key fourth-down stops in the red zone, one inside the 1 when Manning was stuffed on a sneak, the other when his pass fell incomplete in the end zone, both in the second half.
Fittingly, it was Downs who tackled a Texas receiver near midfield on yet another fourth-down stop just short of the sticks to finish it.
Texas’ four turnovers on downs were the most in a game since a 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland, according to ESPN Research.
“The story of the game was the defense,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Those fourth-down stops were big.”
It was Ohio State’s first victory in Columbus over a No. 1-ranked team since the Buckeyes derailed Chuck Long’s 1985 Heisman hopes with five interceptions in a 22-13 upset of Iowa.
This time, there was only one interception, the lone turnover of the game, but it was a big one. Ohio State’s Jermaine Mathews Jr. intercepted Manning to give his team the ball at its own 32 with 3:01 remaining in the third period.
It set up OSU’s single explosive play of the dday. Sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin lofted a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate, who bobbled and recovered it while falling into the end zone.
That score, coupled with running back C.J. Donaldson’s 1-yard blast on 4th-and-goal in the first half, gave the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead they took to the fourth quarter.
Manning was 0-for-5 with an interception on throws of more than 5 yards in the first three periods.
While he finished 17-of-30 for 170 yards, including a 32-yard TD pass to Parker Livingston with 3:28 remaining to give Texas a chance, it was a stunningly bad performance from someone with more hype than any player to enter college football this century.
The Spirit of a Team
Former Ohio State assistant coach Lee Owens, a Madison graduate, teamed with Richland Source managing editor Larry Phillips to author a new book on team building.
The Spirit of a Team chronicles his experiences and philosophies on team building for leaders in locker rooms and board rooms.
Owens retired as head coach at Ashland University and was also the head coach at the University of Akron.
It includes chapters on coaches including Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, Larry Kehres of Mount Union and Sue Ramsey of Ashland University.
It also features stories about players Owens coached including Eddie George, Orlando Pace, Korey Stringer, Jason Taylor and Charlie Frye.
In addition, there are short biographies of businessmen like billionaire Dwight Schar and Ohio’s Matt Kaulig, Dan Niss, and Carl Johnson, all of whom Owens connected with while coaching.
The book is available now at Amazon.com in paperback and hardback.
“(Arch Manning) is the best player we have seen from every aspect since Tim Tebow,” gushed sports shock jock Paul Finebaum last week. “I really don’t even think this game is going to be close … Texas’ roster is better.”
While Finebaum’s lobotomy is long overdue, he wasn’t the only one spouting such unfair idiocy about a young man who played just two full games before entering the den of the defending national champion.
“For Arch, the expectations were out of control on the outside,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I’d say let’s finish the book before we judge him. That’s one chapter.”
It was not a good one.
Manning had plenty of time to throw all day (OSU had just one sack), and simply wasn’t accurate enough to lead the Longhorns to any points in the first 56 minutes of the game.
The grandson of Archie Manning and nephew of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning finished with an off-target percentage of 37%, the worst by a Texas quarterback in a game over the past decade, according to ESPN Research.
Even Manning’s vaunted running ability was muffled. He collected just 38 yards on 10 carries and was snuffed on a fourth-and-goal stop by Caden Curry and Lorenzo Styles Jr. inside the 1-yard line with 6:40 showing in the third quarter.
“I think we could have thrown it better than we did, but we didn’t throw it the way we wanted to because of the O-line,” Sarkisian said. “I thought the O-line gave us ample protection and opportunities to throw the ball down the field.”
Texas couldn’t or didn’t because of the Ohio State defense, which will probably push the Buckeyes to the top spot in the polls this week.