Riley Leonard's Arch Manning-lite performance against Ohio State infuriates Texas fans
On Monday, the Texas Longhorns sat at home watching Notre Dame and Ohio State battle it out in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. It could have been them there instead of the Buckeyes, if only Steve Sarkisian had used Arch Manning. At least that's what a lot of folks think.
Throughout the season, Texas fans called for Sarkisian to either replace starter Quinn Ewers with Manning. At the very least, they wanted to see the former five-star quarterback utilized in more package plays. Actually, they might just point to Notre Dame's first drive in the title game as a blueprint for how Manning could have been used.
Notre Dame had Riley Leonard carry the ball nine times on their first possession. He converted two third downs, two fourth downs and scored a touchdown to cap the drive. All the while, Texas fans pointed and fumed.
Texas fans wanted Steve Sarkisian to use Arch Manning like Riley Leonard
hmm. Maybe Arch Manning should have run the ball against Ohio State a little bit more
— Burnt Orange Nation (@BON_SBNation) January 21, 2025
I’m watching Riley Leonard pick up three first downs by running it up the gut of the Ohio State defense. We should have used Arch more that last game.
— David (@dparcell) January 21, 2025
Arch Manning could have done what riley leonard is doing
— Stephen Oh (@StephenOhCBS) January 21, 2025
Man... this is where Arch would've been solid against Ohio State's front seven.
— The Dub (@treydwarren) January 21, 2025
this notre dame drive makes texas not using arch manning in the 4th quarter look even worse
— CB_Locks (@_CBLocks) January 21, 2025
Bro….. all these short yardage qb runs makes me think…… why didn’t we have arch in???
— Yarece🥷🏾 (@Ma1ik_2) January 21, 2025
Manning came in and ran the ball just once against Ohio State in the 28-14 Cotton Bowl loss. He gained eight yards on a fourth-and-one late in the second quarter. His ability as a short yardage weapon simply wasn't utilized after that, much to the frustration of fans.
Sarkisian put his faith in his starting quarterback. Ewers may have seniority and experience, but he certainly didn't bring the same rushing threat to the table. Leonard proved what a dual-threat quarterback can do running tough between the tackles against Ohio State's front.
The difference between the Fighting Irish and Longhorns isn't talent in the trenches relative to the Buckeyes. It was a willingness to challenge Ohio State physically. That's how Michigan pulled off an upset against their rival. Sarkisian apparently didn't get the memo.
The good news for Longhorns fans is that Manning is now the presumptive starter for 2025. Ewers declared for the NFL draft, handing the reigns off to the next big thing.
The next question is whether Sark will be willing to take full advantage of Manning's legs.
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