Latest title prediction raises expectations for Arch Manning

College football analysts keep buying into the hype surrounding Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

In a story published Monday, On3’s Ari Wasserman predicted Texas would beat the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Manning is one of the main reasons Wasserman is high on the Longhorns. 

“It has been 20 years since Texas won a national championship and it has been a rough two decades for Longhorn fans,” wrote Wasserman. “But Steve Sarkisian has built a program that was good enough to consistently knock down the door before finally kicking it down. Manning becomes the next star of the sport and Texas asserts itself as one of the premier programs in college football, conquering the SEC and the nation.” 

Former QB Vince Young carried the Longhorns to their last title during the 2005 season. Like Young, Manning was a No. 1 overall recruit in his class, via 247 Sports.  

However, Young — who played in 37 games in three seasons at Texas — was far more experienced when he won a national title. Manning sat behind Quinn Ewers in his first two seasons, playing in just 10 games. He had impressive flashes during this span, recording 13 touchdowns (nine passing and four rushing). 

Despite his limited playing time, Manning’s uncle, two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton, believes spending multiple seasons in the same system has benefited the 21-year-old QB. 

“The fact that this will be Arch’s third year in that system, he’ll have great knowledge of that system — still hasn’t had on-the-field game reps as I’m sure he would have liked, but those will come this year,” Peyton Manning told The Sporting News’ Bill Bender earlier in June. “There will be things for him to learn, but I’m proud of his commitment and looking forward to watching him play.” 

Arch Manning will certainly have growing pains like all young quarterbacks. Young, for example, threw the same number of touchdown passes and interceptions (18) in his first two seasons with the Longhorns. 

If he can quickly improve, however, he should keep Texas in the thick of the national title hunt and meet lofty expectations.