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Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) drops back to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Ohio Stadium. Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Urban Meyer offers passionate defense of Arch Manning after his poor performance

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 10:21 PM ET

Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach-turned-college football commentator Urban Meyer was very clear in the lead-up to the Week 1 clash between the Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns that Arch Manning was receiving too much hype.

It wasn't because Meyer didn't believe in Manning either. Simply, the former head coach felt that the young quarterback needed time to develop and prove himself before he was crowned as the next GOAT.

As it turns out, Meyer's intuition about Manning was right, too. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning struggled against Ohio State in a 14-7 loss.

He looked nothing like the Heisman-hopeful quarterback that he was billed to be all offseason, but now, after the game, Meyer is defending the Texas quarterback.

Just like how he may have been overhyped by the media before he even took a snap in 2025, Meyer believes Manning is now getting too much negative press for Texas' season-opening loss.

Urban Meyer defends Texas QB Arch Manning

“Well the reality is that the quarterbacks get far too much credit and far too much blame,” Meyer said on a recent appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" (h/t On3). “There weren’t people open, Colin. The maturation of the Buckeye defense, I don’t want to say I was shocked, because they lost five or six players and a coordinator and they looked phenomenal.”

"He'll be a much different player in 4-5 weeks. He wasn't ready for that."@colincowherd and @CoachUrbanMeyer talk about Arch Manning's performance in the loss to Ohio State pic.twitter.com/Z8eOz6oRaU
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 4, 2025

The fact of the matter is that, for as not ready as Manning looked, Matt Patricia and the Buckeyes defense deserved credit for throwing the quarterback and the entirety of the Longhorns' offense off their game.

Though Manning did have two starts under his belt heading into the 2025 season, he's also now officially "the guy" for Texas. Before, teams were game-planning for former QB Quinn Ewers, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was able to sprinkle Manning in for a change-up.

Now, defensive coordinators like Patricia will be solely focused on stopping Manning, and that type of attention takes time to get used to for young quarterbacks.

Urban Meyer says to give Arch Manning some time

Perhaps the hype for Manning was a bit too much, too soon. That's not to say he can't be a great college football quarterback and a future NFL quarterback, but he needs time to grow into his new position.

Meyer, who knows a thing or two about elite quarterback play, told Cowherd that the young quarterback simply needs time to develop.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves one way or the other.

“I went back and I watched every snap of Arch Manning, and I keep hearing about potential first pick in the NFL Draft, Heisman Trophy, and I keep saying, ‘Stop this. That’s not fair to this guy.’ This guy, if you put any other name on the back of his jersey, let him grow as a player, he’ll be a much different player in four to five weeks," Meyer said.

Manning completed 17-of-30 passes against the Buckeyes for just 170 yards and a touchdown, and he was picked off in the second half. He was also able to rush 10 times for 38 yards.

Up next for Texas is a Week 2 clash with San Jose State, which could prove to be the perfect bounce-back game for Manning and the Longhorns.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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