The Texas Longhorns sit atop the top 25 rankings now. And claim the spot the Ohio State Buckeyes held at the start of the year. But OSU’s stunning meltdown against the SEC powerhouse exposed a “scary bad” flaw that Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian took advantage of.
Fans who tuned into the heavyweight college football battle saw the Buckeyes leap to a 23-3 lead. Even Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith delivered more individual yards (110) than Texas did on offense (97) at halftime. The quarterback Manning looked rattled too; watching the offense turn the ball over twice including on the opening offensive play on a fumble recovered by OSU’s Jay Timmons.
Except Manning looked surgical in the end in spearheading the comeback. All by taking advantage of an Ohio State weakness suddenly exposed by the dual-threat Manning and the Longhorns.
Analyst Brings up Stunning Arch Manning Passing Stat
Former Penn State offensive lineman turned college football analyst Landon Tengwall revealed the biggest flaw Manning took advantage of.
This time Manning played against a Buckeyes defense that lost uncanny athletes Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs. And their missing presences showed as Tengwall noted in this “scary” stat attached to OSU now.
“Arch Manning had an average Time To Throw of 3.58 seconds versus Ohio State yesterday. Which is a WILDLY long,” Tengwall shared via the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
Tengwall added the next part that becomes “scary bad” for OSU.
“He passed the ball 37 times. To only register two sacks when he held the ball that long and passed that many times is scary bad for the Ohio State DL (defensive line),” Tengwall said.
Above Flaw is Alarming for Ryan Day, Matt Patricia
Ohio State once again clearly saw the effect of having Reese at edge rusher. Plus Styles at linebacker and the versatile Downs on the backend.
This pass rush struggled to generate pressure when it mattered the most without Reese and company. Manning, literally, was given nearly four seconds to throw. Quarterback usually need three seconds tops to distribute the ball.
So Manning once again too advantage of the protection he had. OSU defenders across the line looked limited in their hand arsenal moves to evade the front five wall Manning had.
This also means Patricia will need to dig deeper into unlocking a younger Ohio State front seven that lost three stars to the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Teams Will Test Ohio State
Look for future Buckeye opponents to become less feared going against this OSU defensive front. Especially in passing situations moving forward.
The Buckeyes may see similar looks from Kent State, even if the Golden Flashes enter Columbus as a massive underdog. But OSU still faces a fierce gauntlet of high-profile passers who’ll no doubt take cues from Manning, Sarkisian and the Longhorns.
New Indiana star QB Josh hoover is still to come on the OSU schedule for Oct. 17. Then Jayden Maiava of USC comes next on Halloween night inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Even Oregon QB Dante Moore, who struggled in the Oklahoma State upset of the Ducks, is on deck for OSU too and likely will get up for this game.
OSU allowed Manning to have nearly four seconds to throw the football. Patricia, Day and OSU needs to find a way to cut that number down.
This ‘Scary Bad’ Flaw Comes to Light for Ohio State Following Texas Meltdown