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Deion Sanders Sends Strong Message to Arch Manning After Tough Ohio State Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 5:40 PM ET

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes had a disappointing opening to the 2025 college football season. On Friday night, they fell to Haynes King and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 27-20 thanks to a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes from the quarterback.

Things weren’t much better for Arch Manning and the formerly No. 1 Texas Longhorns, who never found a rhythm offensively in their 14-7 loss to the current No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.

To begin the "Manning era" in Austin, the nephew of Peyton and Eli completed 17-of-30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while adding 38 yards on the ground. And with the poor performance, Manning is taking the majority of the blame.

Sanders may understand what Arch is experiencing, especially coming from a family with Super Bowl-winning players. The former Cowboys All-Pro cornerback coached his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, for four seasons at Jackson State and Colorado. While Shilo failed to make an NFL roster this year, Shedeur earned a spot with the Cleveland Browns.

In an interview with sports reporter Romi Bean released on Wednesday, Coach Prime was asked what advice he would give to Manning. Sanders shared his response.

"Be you," Sanders said. "Don't placate to others. Be you and be the best you that you can possibly be. Quit trying to be whatever it is for them, and not that he's doing that, but that's what I told my sons. That's what I tell my teams.

"That's what I tell everybody. It's so many people trying to pretend and trick or treat around here, and it ain't even Halloween, and be something that they're not. The way you succeed in life is to be the best you that you can possibly be consistently."

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Manning faces a much lighter challenge in Week 2 when Texas hosts San Jose State on Saturday at noon ET. The same is true for Sanders and Colorado, who host the Delaware Blue Hens at 3:30 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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