Ohio State Buckeyes cool Finebaum’s Texas hype
There are a limitless number of takeaways from the Ohio State Buckeyes‘ 14-7 win over the Texas Longhorns. The Buckeyes have now given themselves arguably the best non-conference win of the season. Texas is clearly going to drop after being picked as the preseason number one by most polls.
Ohio State, despite a new defensive coordinator and some new personnel, still has one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the country. It’s reasonable to ask some tough questions about the play-calling from Steve Sarkisian. Arch Manning, who did show some flashes of brilliance, doesn’t look anywhere close to being the Heisman Trophy frontrunner many expected before the season.
Oh, and Paul Finebaum has once again humiliated himself with a series of comments about Manning and his expectations for the Texas Longhorns. Because that’s what happens when you view promoting the SEC as your primary job and not actually analyzing football objectively.
In a preview ahead of the Texas-OSU matchup, Finebaum joined the SEC Network and made the remarkable claim that “Arch Manning is the best player we have seen from every aspect since Tim Tebow.”
So how did the greatest all-around player since Tim Tebow fare on Saturday? He went 17-30 for 170 yards with one touchdown, one interception, added 38 yards on the ground, and missed several open receivers. Whoops.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) on the field for warm ups before the Ohio State and Texas game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Aug 30, 2025.
Paul Finebaum Will Never Learn
It’s not that Manning was awful; after a shaky first half, he was much better in the second half, and showed off some fantastic arm strength and accuracy on several fourth-quarter throws. But acting as though, based on his last name, hype, and recruiting rankings, he’d already shown himself to be better than quarterbacks like Cam Newton, Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Johnny Manziel, RGIII, DeShaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels or a number of others is certifiably insane.
Finebaum wasn’t done there.
When confronted with the fact that sportsbooks favored Ohio State, though by just a few points, Finebaum was certain they were wrong. “I really don’t think this game is even going to be close,” he said. “Texas’ roster is better.”
Well, not only was the game close, but Texas lost.
This is the problem Finebaum has. He lives in a world where Nick Saban coaches every SEC team, and every SEC team is peak dynasty Alabama. The reality is that the past few seasons have demonstrated that whatever gap existed between the SEC and the Big Ten has closed, substantially. Ironically, Texas also demonstrated that the obsessive SEC hype was overblown, considering they were able to join from the lowly Big 12 and have the best regular season record in the conference in their first season.
Will Manning recover and have a good season? Probably. Playing on the road in the Horseshoe isn’t easy, and there were some timing issues that could and likely will be corrected. Texas is also clearly one of the best teams in the country. But the Longhorns aren’t the best, as Finebaum says. Nor is Manning the second coming.
Maybe have some perspective and you’ll stop humiliating yourself.
