Why Arch Manning and Texas' toughest task is yet to come after Ohio State upset

Since 2004, AP No. 1-ranked teams were 197-0 when holding a 20-point or greater lead in the fourth quarter — then 2026 Texas happened. The Longhorns managed to complete a wild comeback in which they scored 21 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes of game time to defeat the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Quarterback Arch Manning, who for three quarters looked to be bracing himself for the tidal wave of "fraud" posts heading his way, engineered the offensive resurgence that could become the marquee of his Heisman campaign. His final stat line reads rather average though with 195 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception (that was not his fault whatsoever).

Exiting Saturday's massive upset, Texas finds itself on top of the Week 3 rankings but that could put the program back in a familiar and uncomfortable position. Last season, the Longhorns were the preseason No. 1 and that massive target on their backs was too heavy to manage.

Will pressure get to Texas, Arch Manning again after dethroning Ohio State?

The SEC is as wide open as it's ever been but that means the conference is poised to potentially cannibalize itself once the intra-league play is fully underway. Nine members, including Texas, are a part of the Top 25 and six of them still remain on the Longhorns' schedule. Toppling the Buckeyes cannot be the crowning achievement of their regular season campaign with so much runway left to go.

Keeping a steady head and continuing to build momentum as non-conference play concludes will fall squarely on Manning's shoulders, especially if he wants to be taken seriously as a Heisman favorite this time. His biggest tests will come post-Week 3 with No. 15 Tennessee, No. 24 Oklahoma and No. 8 Ole Miss all approaching within a four-week span. He's going to need to toss for 200-plus yards and not wait to do so until the second half in each of those contests.

Winning all four of those games will give Texas some breathing room and likely a clear lead in the conference with likely only Georgia and LSU to worry about in the latter half of the season. Even a single loss (God forbid any more than that) will automatically put Saturday's win over Ohio State straight into the fluke bucket. That narrative will doom Manning's Heisman hopes and possibly his chance at going No. 1 overall in next year's NFL Draft too.

With Oregon's Dante Moore, another preseason Heisman favorite, flatlining against last year's Big 12 basement dweller Oklahoma State on Saturday, the door couldn't be more wide open for Manning to take a commanding hold on the race. Taking down the No. 1 team in the nation should be rewarded but that's not an endless source of credibility either.

The pressure is only going to build from here on out and thankfully for the Longhorns and Manning (or maybe not), as they have UTSA visiting in Week 3 offering itself as another sacrificial lamb (or upset candidate) for Texas to take advantage of. Anything less than a blowout will only grease the gears of the punditry machine looking for any excuse to claim Texas got lucky Ohio State choked.

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