Look, friends, I’ve been around long enough to see dreams crash and burn in spectacular fashion, but watching our Longhorns get absolutely schooled 14-7 by Ohio State yesterday? That one hit different. 107,000 screaming Buckeye fans, our golden boy Arch Manning making his grand debut as the #1 team in the country, and everything that could go wrong… well, it went sideways faster than you could blink.

Here’s the thing that’s eating at me. We had this thing. We were RIGHT THERE. Twice. Inside their 10-yard line, and we walked away with absolutely nothing to show for it. It’s like having everything lined up perfectly and somehow finding a way to mess it up anyway.

The Manning Mystique Meets Reality

So Arch Manning, this kid we’ve been waiting on forever, finally gets his shot to run the show. And man, for three quarters, it was rough. The kid completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, but here’s the kicker: only 38 of those yards came in the first three quarters. Thirty-eight! I’ve seen more offensive production at a church social.

Watching him out there, you could see the weight of that Manning name pressing down heavy. Every throw looked rushed, every decision second-guessed. Ohio State’s defense was reading him clean, and that third-quarter interception? Buddy, that ball hung in the air so long I thought it was never coming down.

But here’s what gives me hope, and why I’m not ready to write this kid’s obituary just yet. Fourth quarter rolls around, we’re down 14-0, and suddenly the lights come on. Manning goes 4-of-7 for 105 yards, engineers our only touchdown drive, and looks every bit the quarterback we’ve been dreaming about. After the game, he doesn’t make excuses or point fingers. Just looks everyone in the eye and says, “Not good enough… that starts with me.”

That’s championship DNA right there, even wrapped in a rough debut package.

Sarkisian’s Red Zone Blues Strike Again

Now let’s talk about Steve Sarkisian for a hot minute, because this red zone thing is becoming his calling card, and not in a good way. We went 0-for-2 when we got close to the promised land, and both failures were just brutal to watch.

The worst one? We march 70 yards down the field in 15 plays, eating up nearly seven minutes of clock. Get down to 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and what does Sark call? A quarterback sneak with a redshirt freshman who’s been struggling all day. Sometimes I wonder what goes through coaches’ heads in these moments.

Sark admitted afterward he was overthinking it, worried about Ohio State substituting if he brought in the big boys. Sometimes the best play is the obvious play, you know? When you need one yard, you line up your biggest, meanest guys and run it straight ahead. No need to get cute when brute force will do the job.

The play-calling all night felt conservative, like Sark was trying not to lose instead of playing to win. Former players are calling him out, saying he should have given Manning easier throws against that elite defense. When your offense puts up 203 total yards, the worst since 2015, against anybody, you’ve got to look in the mirror.

The Offensive Line Reality Check

Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough. We replaced four out of five offensive linemen from last year’s team. Four! That’s rebuilding from scratch and wondering why things feel different.

These guys were nervous as hell. Three false start penalties, couldn’t get any push in short yardage, and when Manning needed them most on that goal-line stand, they got worked by Ohio State’s defensive front. The Buckeyes “got under Arch pretty good and kind of took his legs out from under him.” That’s what happens when you don’t have that veteran chemistry.

The good news? Chemistry develops with time and game reps. Bad news? We needed it yesterday, not three weeks from now.

Why I’m Not Ready to Panic (Yet)

Listen, I’ve seen enough seasons unfold to know that Week 1 performances don’t write the whole story. Yeah, losing to Ohio State as the #1 team stings something fierce, but let’s keep some perspective here.

First off, we lost to the defending national champions in their house. That’s not exactly losing to somebody you should beat. Second, our schedule going forward looks pretty manageable. San Jose State, UTEP, Sam Houston State coming up. Perfect tune-up games for Manning to find his rhythm and that offensive line to start clicking.

College football experts are saying we could still lose a couple SEC games and make the championship game. The path’s still there. We just have to be smart enough to walk it.

Manning’s fourth-quarter performance showed me everything I needed to see about his ceiling. When the lights were brightest and the pressure was highest, he delivered. That’s not something you can teach. You either have it or you don’t. The kid’s got it.

The Defense Deserves Some Love

While we’re talking about what went wrong, let’s give credit where it’s due. Our defense played lights out. Ohio State managed just 215 total yards against us. The only reason they scored 14 points was because Manning’s pick gave them a short field and we couldn’t punch it in from the goal line.

If our offense can just protect the football and convert when we get opportunities, this defense has the talent to keep us in every game we play. That’s championship-level defense right there. We just need the other side of the ball to hold up their end.

The Bottom Line

Look, I won’t sugarcoat it. Yesterday hurt. We had championship dreams dancing in our heads and got a cold splash of reality instead. Manning needs to clean up his accuracy, Sark needs to solve these red zone riddles, and that offensive line needs to gel fast.

But here’s what I keep coming back to. The talent’s still there. The foundation we built doesn’t crumble because of one bad night in Columbus. Manning showed he’s got the heart and the arm to be special. He just needs time to put it all together. Sark’s proven he can coach. He just needs to trust his players more in crucial moments.

This loss might end up being the best thing that happened to us all season. Sometimes you need reality to knock you upside the head before you can see clearly. The preseason rankings meant nothing anyway. It’s what we do from here that counts.

We’ve got the pieces to make a serious run at something special. We just need to put them together right. And if I know anything about champions, both on the field and in business, it’s that they figure out how to turn their biggest failures into their greatest strengths.

The season’s not over, amigos. Hell, it’s barely begun.