Around noon local time Saturday, Arch Manning was the favorite to be selected first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. That's not the case anymore after Texas football's putrid performance against Ohio State.
Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, entered the highly anticipated matchup vs. the Buckeyes with massive expectations placed upon him. Some mentioned a Heisman at the end of this season, others a national championship. And as far as the NFL Draft goes, he was the betting-odds favorite to go first.
Following the 14-7 loss, though, during which Manning struggled mightily, he has been usurped as the leading candidate to hear his name called first by Roger Goodell. Now, that honor belongs to two other quarterbacks: LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Penn State's Drew Allar.
According to DraftKings, Nussmeier and Allar are both +350 to go first overall. Manning, though, does not even have the third-best odds — or the fourth. Manning, because of his showing against Ohio State, is now at fifth with +700 odds, behind Nussmeier, Allar, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers (+500), and Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (+550).
Saturday was just Manning's third-ever college start; he started against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State last season after Texas starter Quinn Ewers suffered an injury in the third game of the season vs. UTSA. In that game, Manning entered and threw for four touchdowns and ran for another, sparking a conversation about whether Ewers could retain his starting spot when he recovered.
In his first career start, though, Manning struggled at times against UL Monroe; he completed 15 of 29 passes and threw for 258 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also did not get to use his like the week before, recording one carry for -4 yards in the blowout win. The next week went much, much better for Manning, as he went 26-of-31 for 325 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and he ran for 33 yards and a touchdown in the Longhorns' SEC debut.
Despite the strong performance, Manning did not play following a bye week in the Red River Rivalry vs. Oklahoma. He briefly entered the game against Georgia amid a poor Ewers showing, but he similarly struggled against the overwhelming Bulldogs defense.
On Saturday vs. Ohio State, Manning had 170 yards through the air, one touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for 38 yards.
Texas hosts San Jose State this coming Saturday.
