4 Takeaways From Texas' Comeback Win Over Ohio State - With An NFL Draft Twist FOX Sports Manning delivers in 4th as Texas stuns Ohio State in 20-point comeback ESPN Ryan Day: Ohio State considered letting Texas score, b...
College Football 4 Takeaways From Texas' Comeback Win Over Ohio State - With An NFL Draft Twist Updated Sep. 13, 2026 12:24 a.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Rob Rang NFL Writer Normally, college football fans have to wait until the first snow flurries of the year for the biggest regular-season games. That wasn't the case this year, as we were treated to a thrilling early-season showdown between Ohio State and Texas on Saturday night.
Both teams entered the matchup loaded with future NFL Draft picks, but let's face it: Most of the attention was on quarterbacks Arch Manning and Julian Sayin, along with star pass-catchers Cam Coleman and Jeremiah Smith.
Sayin and Smith were spectacular in the first half, while Manning looked like a future franchise quarterback in the second. The end result? A wild, fun-filled affair that ended with the Longhorns pulling off a 24-23 comeback win.
Here are my takeaways from Texas' thrilling win over Ohio State, with an NFL Draft twist. These four prospects are ranked in the order in which I would currently select them if I were building an NFL roster.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith wasn't just the best player in this game. He's the top NFL prospect in the country and one of the highest graded prospects I've evaluated in nearly 30 years as a professional scout.
I've often compared Smith to future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, but in reality, that is short-changing the Buckeyes' star wideout. Like Jones, Smith offers an exceptional combination of size, strength and speed. He is already a far better route-runner than Jones was at this point in his collegiate career. Smith has the ability to sink his hips and change direction like you would see from a smaller wide receiver. But at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, he not only has strong and reliable hands, but he is also savvy at shielding the ball from defenders. He displayed that late in the first half, setting up a Texas defender before contorting his body in the air to make a highlight-reel catch.
Smith easily blazes by the cornerback and is wide open, but he's forced to turn around and adjust his body midair to make the grab. He uses his strong hands to come down with the football, giving the Buckeyes a first down and putting them in scoring position.
Smith finished with a game-high eight catches for 164 yards and a touchdown. He was undoubtedly the best player on the field, despite the Buckeyes' loss.
While Smith was the top player on the field Saturday night and the best overall prospect in the 2026 draft, the top quarterback will almost surely be the first pick. Quarterbacks make more money because they matter more. Fair or not, that's just the reality of football.
I'm not ready to pronounce Manning as the best quarterback in college football , but I do believe he can become that, with a few relatively small improvements . He possesses all the physical traits to project as a franchise quarterback and there is plenty of evidence that he also has the requisite mental toughness, given the microscope he's played under his entire life. That's just the reality of growing up a Manning.
Manning has endured nearly impossible expectations, with his occasional growing pains frequently cited by critics and his moments of brilliance either ignored or too often credited to his head coach, Steve Sarkisian. Some have even already labeled him as "overrated" or a "bust."
Given that he now has 40 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in his college career, including Saturday night's historic comeback win over the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes, it seems like Manning is being held to a higher standard than any other quarterback.
He's a quarterback, not Amazon delivery. High-level quarterback play takes time.
There just aren't many quarterbacks in college - or even the NFL - who can make throws like the one above or lead their team to 21 fourth-quarter points against an Ohio State defense littered with NFL-caliber talent from top to bottom.
One of the reasons I am so bullish on Manning taking his game to another level this fall is the fact that Texas lured Coleman from Auburn to Austin.
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