'Ultimately, I gotta play better' – Arch Manning shows true merit of leader of Texas Longhorns program with accountable assessment of his play

Arch Manning's confidence in the presser should bode well for this offense's future in 2025.

"They're good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot. That starts with me," Manning said. "I got to play better for us to win. Can't wait till the second half to kind of get things going."

Obviously you'd prefer a win and Manning talking about all the things that went right. But, this is still a silver lining you want after a season-opening loss. Ohio State is Ohio State and this is going to be a year of learning and bumps in the road with a young quarterback.

But, again, you have to like what your young quarterback had to say about a seven-point loss on the road in Week 1.

Another Texas leader was complimentary of Arch Manning's performance.

"He's a competitive guy. He's one of the most competitive guys I've ever been around. He just wants to win," Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. "He cares about his team, and really that's it. And so he feels like the offense didn't do enough, which is just not true.  He'll be alright. He's a dog."

Head coach Steve Sarkisian was also still excited about his quarterback's play in his first start as the starter on the Forty Acres.

"We saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he's going to become here," Sarkisian said. "He's going to watch the tape and say, 'Man, I wish this. I wish that.' That's the life of a competitor. But I think there's a lot to hold on to of what the future is going to look like for Arch Manning here. So we're excited about that."

He was also optimistic about his new-look offensive line.

"All in all, I was pleased with those guys [on the offensive line]," Sarkisian said. "We ran the football. 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. I thought the O-line gave us ample protection and opportunity to throw the ball down the field."