Steve Sarkisian answers the tough question about Arch Manning's start against Ohio State

The 2025 college football season will open with one of the year's top matchups, as new Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning is pitted against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.

There is considerable hype surrounding Manning ahead of the challenge. The former five-star and legacy quarterback has just two starts to his name, but Manning is already in conversations for the Heisman Trophy and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick.

The Buckeyes, which will host Texas at The Shoe, return another uber-talented team under head coach Ryan Day after securing the ninth national title in program history last season.

It's difficult to find a tougher test for Manning's third start and his first holding the full reigns after backing up Quinn Ewers over two seasons. Ohio State's defense, now under Super Bowl winning coordinator Matt Patricia, features one of the top defenders in the country in two-time All-American safety Caleb Downs.

The real question for Manning is how much freedom head coach Steve Sarkisian will give his new quarterback on the road against a team like Ohio State. The key, for Sarkisian, is developing a gameplan that will allow Manning to go off-script at times.

"Putting a plan together that we feel good about also gives Arch a little bit of freedom to get us in and out of some things... as looks present themselves in the game, because there's so many unknowns," Sarkisian said on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd." "I think it is going to be critical, and he's more than capable of doing that."

A significant part of Manning's preparation will come down to film, something that Sarkisian is confident in given his family legacy featuring former college football and NFL greats.

"He's been been raised watching tape with Eli and Peyton and his dad and his grandpa," Sarkisian said.

Manning's only two starts came as a redshirt freshman last season, both wins against UL Monroe and Mississippi State. In 10 total appearances, he completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards with nine touchdowns to two interceptions while adding 108 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

The season opener won't be the first time Manning has taken the field against the Buckeyes, which took down Texas in the playoff semifinals last season.

"He's got great composure, and he's been in some fires with already," Sarkisian said. So we'll feel good about it. Do we want to major in him having to audible on the road? That's a difficult thing to do. But we're going to give him some opportunities to do those things, especially at some critical moments."

Texas-Ohio State is slated for Aug. 30 at noon ET (F