The Inside Zone

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The Inside Zone
The Inside Zone
The Arch Manning Era begins in underwhelming fashion

The Arch Manning Era begins in underwhelming fashion

Manning didn't exactly live up to the hype. But there is a long way to go for him and this Texas team.

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Matt Fortuna
Aug 30, 2025
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The Inside Zone
The Inside Zone
The Arch Manning Era begins in underwhelming fashion
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The last indignity of the debut of the Arch Manning Era came through no fault of the five-star quarterback’s own.

His postgame path took him from the bench to midfield to the North end zone to sing the “Eyes of Texas” with his teammates after a 14-7 defeat at Ohio State. That meant that Manning and his comrades then had to walk 100-plus yards to the opposite end zone of The Horseshoe to make their way up the ramp and back to their locker room.

And that meant reaching the sanctuary right after the final verse of “Carmen Ohio,” the Buckeyes’ own postgame version of kumbaya.

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How firm thy friendship, the 107,524 fans bellowed as Manning reached the 25-yard line.

O, they sang as he reached the 23.

Hi, they continued as he crossed the 21

Ooooooo, they exhaled as he passed the 20.

Cue “Across the Field,” one of the home team’s fight songs, playing for the remaining duration of Manning’s long walk, well, across the field.

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