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COLUMBUS, Ohio — One fruitless comeback attempt, four turnovers, and nearly five hours of real-time footage separated the journey to and from Ohio Stadium, serving as an emotional bookend for Archie Manning, the celebrated college quarterback with the anchor-like last name.

On Saturday morning, 53 minutes remained until Manning, ready to begin his first season as Texas' starting quarterback, emerged from the visiting tunnel, his offensive teammates snarling. Those at the front of the group welcomed and waved the hail from the home crowd where Ohio State won the national championship earlier this year. They waved their palms to the sky, imploring the loyal Buckeyes for more noise, more bile, and more ranch, and they happily thanked them on their beds adorned in scarlet and gray  .

Manning, naturally a reclusive player, remained somewhat naively facing the back, his demeanor the picture of stoicism. Only when the Longhorns broke their brief embrace did the quarterback sprint back to the field.

Long before Manning caught his first wayward pass or misreported, long before he was forced to a brutal interception and a series of fumbles that led to fourth down, everything the football world envisioned for him felt possible. The impending Heisman Trophy, the pursuit of Texas' first national title in 20 years, the path to drafting Uncles Peyton and Eli with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft—Manning's enviable hair peeking through his helmet visor. He smiled as he hurled a short pass. He flicked a personalized handshake with a member of the Longhorns staff. After months of being Archie Manning, his chance to become a true quarterback finally arrived.

But late that afternoon, just after Manning's final pass missed the first-down marker to secure Ohio State's 14-7 victory, his return trip was devoid of the pregame bounce and the young Ivette. His left elbow was scraped and bloody. His helmet was tilted backwards against the back of his head. Center Cole Husson, the only returning starter on the rebuilt offensive line, wrapped his left arm around Manning's back in a gesture of support.

Given how small the sample size of Manning's performance was last season, it was clear that he couldn't keep up with the runaway hype he neither wanted nor could control, but any quarterback who loses in the most high-profile opening game of recent memory will have to answer for not becoming Archbishop Manning, no matter how far-fetched it may seem.

"I always want him to play better," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game. "That's a coach's job, right? And our job is to find ways for every player to play better. So, with Archie, the expectations were seemingly out of control. But don't you think we should finish the book before we judge? This is just one chapter, and there's a long season ahead of him before he plays."

But long before the Manning book was published, a significant segment of the sports world was interested in exploring Manning's career. They considered him the best quarterback in the country, playing 233 snaps as Quinn Uers' starting backup in 2024. Despite starting only twice, against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, the former was a Sun Belt Conference overmatch, and the latter was an SEC bottom-feeder who could have won the league title the previous two seasons combined.

But because the previous three quarterbacks in the Manning family have all become sports legends, and because the lineage begins with Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints patriarch Archie Manning, the weight of two generations of on-field prowess has been centered on the family's youngest namesake since August 11, 2021. Manning announced his commitment to Texas the following summer with a characteristically low-key social media post, and Longhorns fans were eager to see him named the starter.

The matchup between the defending national champions and the nation's top-ranked team will draw millions of viewers on the season's opening weekend, especially since there hasn't been a matchup like it since Miami faced Florida State in 1988. The arrival of Archie Manning has raised the bar for sports excitement to a new level, with Longhorns fans in orange discussing the drive from O'Hare International Airport to Columbus in the wee hours of the morning, nearly canceling their Saturday morning connecting flight, and Texas legends roaming the sidelines of Ohio Stadium.

National champion quarterback Vince Young returned to the Horseshoe for the first time since beating the Buckeyes in 2005. The school's official cultural director, actor Matthew McConaughey, shifted his weight nervously from one pair of cowboy boots to the next, waved his hand to dispel his nerves, and hurried down the sideline throughout the fourth quarter.

"You better put on your game face!" a Texas fan shouted at a teammate heading toward the stadium at 9:13 a.m., holding a plastic bag of alcohol. "It's time for your second beer."

For visiting fans who paid exorbitant prices to witness Manning's public display, the collective excitement quickly faded as Sarkisian's offense and its quarterback ran the first half. The Longhorns players and staff were bewildered by the transformation from Ohio State's Division II offense to an "elite-level" offense under the tutelage of Matt Patricia, former head coach of the Detroit Lions and longtime defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Sarkisian forced Texas to mount four consecutive drives to end the first half, thanks to Patricia's slick coverage, which included a plumb line from star safety Caleb Downs. The Longhorns retreated to the locker room without ever reaching the Ohio State 42-yard line.

At halftime, Sarkisian, a renowned quarterback, attempted to appease the new starter with a one-on-one chat. They quickly reviewed key Buckeyes alignments from the first two quarters and asked Manning to check coverage, which Manning handled well when Texas returned to the field.

Sarkisian scored more in the second half, as Manning, who had rushed for 38 yards on 10 attempts, began to realize that contact seemed to be placating him. Manning didn't complete a pass longer than nine yards until 13:02 into the fourth quarter, ultimately finishing 17-of-30 with one touchdown and one interception, for a 170-yard rush. He put together an impressive four-play, 60-yard scoring drive in the dying moments, giving the Longhorns a chance to score. A fourth and final turnover on downs scuttled a potential recovery on Texas' next possession.

"Ultimately, I was inadequate," Manning said. "Of course, you don't want to start the season 0-1. We're a good team, but I thought we outplayed ourselves a lot. And that starts with me. We have to play better if we want to win. I want the second half to go quickly."

"Overrated! Overrated!" chants of "Overrated!" were hurled at Manning midway through the fourth quarter, until his fourth-down pass was dropped in the end zone, ending another drive. The team staff immediately had Manning sit on the Longhorns bench and shoo away the reporters who had begun to linger nearby. "Please," the staff desperately pleaded, trying to shield Manning from further scrutiny, as visiting fans were already chanting, "This is our bench."

But within minutes, as Ohio State quarterback Julia,n Sain knelt before the clock and the Buckeyes offensive linemen danced on the field in celebration, Manning leaped to his feet and trudged across the turf. Postgame handshakes followed, and the band's performance of "The Eyes of Texas" continued solemnly until the very end, as security guards tried to keep Saturday's star from being smothered.

It was a long walk across the field, with the Longhorns' new quarterback holding back tears on his way to the visiting locker room, where a press conference about Manning's shortcomings awaited.

"I thought we could have done better," Manning said. "And we could have done much better. It's a shame we couldn't execute."