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The Football Notebook: Arch Manning’s Comeback, the Cowboys’ Reality Check and Manchester United’s VAR Nightmare
Welcome to The Football Notebook, the place where I spend approximately 48 consecutive hours watching football and then somehow have the audacity to complain that the weekend went by too fast. I’m beginning to think there might be a correlation there, but further research is needed.
I was on the verge of turning off Texas-Ohio State at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes were up 23-3, Texas hadn’t shown much of anything offensively and I had already started mentally moving on to whatever game was next. There was little reason to believe the Longhorns were about to make things interesting, much less come all the way back and win the thing. Perhaps that was a bit of an overreaction.
Arch Manning spent the next 15 minutes showing exactly why Texas needs to stop being so careful with him. Steve Sarkisian can baby his quarterback all he wants, and I understand the thought process behind doing so when Manning is still relatively imperfect, but we’re reaching the point where the protection is becoming part of the problem. This is one of the most talented quarterbacks in college football surrounded by a roster loaded with players capable of making his life easier. Eventually you have to trust all of that talent and see what happens.
Texas didn’t really have another choice by the time the fourth quarter arrived. Being down 20 tends to simplify the decision-making process, so the Longhorns opened things up and Manning responded by looking like a completely different quarterback. He started pushing the ball downfield and suddenly Texas had an offense capable of putting Ohio State on its heels. It wasn’t particularly complicated. They just finally let Arch go to town.
That has to be the blueprint from here. Manning is going to make mistakes if Texas gives him more freedom, and there will inevitably be a Saturday where one of those mistakes costs the Longhorns dearly. I’d still rather take my chances with that version than spend three quarters trying to steer him toward the perfect performance. Choosing to unleash a quarterback this talented should be easier than deciding whether to eat dessert before dinner. The answer is always yes.
Ohio State is going to have a much less enjoyable time revisiting the fourth quarter because there were so many moments where the Buckeyes could’ve ended this thing. Julian Sayin missed what would’ve been a touchdown to McCuin. Texas somehow converted a fourth-and-9 during the comeback, and Ohio State later missed a field goal that would’ve put the Buckeyes up two scores again. Change any one of those moments and we’re probably spending Monday talking about an impressive road win instead of Ryan Day overseeing a collapse.
I don’t think this can be filed away solely as Texas producing a great comeback. It absolutely was one, and the Longhorns deserve credit for refusing to die when the game appeared finished, but Ohio State also let them keep hanging around long enough for something ridiculous to happen. Eventually you have to close the door. The Buckeyes never did, and Manning kicked it off the hinges once he realized it was still open.