Paul Finebaum was mocked by fans on Saturday after massively singing Arch Manning’s praises – only for the Texas quarterback to deliver a disastrous performance against Ohio State.
Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli – and grandson of Archie – has received tons of hype ahead of this season as he’s stepped into the starting quarterback job for the Longhorns.
And Finebaum was certainly part of that chorus on Saturday before No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 1 Texas.
‘He is the best player we have seen from every aspect since Tim Tebow,’ Finebaum said of Manning this morning on ‘SEC Nation’, with 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tebow sitting right across from him.
‘He’s not proven it yet, but in terms of magic and majesty and buzz… people are gonna be watching this game today who would never normally watch a college football game,’ Finebaum added.
While there were certainly plenty of eyeballs on Manning, his first start of the season did not go to plan as Texas were beaten 14-7 in Columbus – with the quarterback tallying just 38 passing yards through three quarters.
It was a tough day at the office for Arch Manning as Texas lost to Ohio State 14-7
And Paul Finebaum was mocked by fans for his massive praise of the QB before the game
He ultimately finished with 170 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, but that didn’t stop fans online from making fun of Finebaum’s bold proclamation.
‘Paul is a little ahead of himself,’ one wrote on X in response to Awful Announcing re-posting Finebaum’s praise of Manning.
‘Tell me more Paul, I’ll hang up and listen,’ another said to the renowned radio host.
‘Wish I got paid to be wrong,’ a third added.
A fourth said: ‘I am an sec fan but he wasn’t even the best QB on the field.’
And a fifth referenced some previous SEC greats, writing: ‘Listen, talking heads get clicks for hot takes. That said, this is the most insane football comment from somebody paid to talk sports I can recall. SEC-Homer watched same conference Heisman winners Cam Newton, Johnny Football [Manziel], Joe Burrow & Jayden Daniels and still spewed this.’
While Manning impressed against the likes of Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State last year as he filled in for an injured Quinn Ewers, the defending-champion Buckeyes were undoubtedly the toughest test he’d faced to date.
And the heir to NFL royalty struggled in Ohio as Texas were held scoreless until the fourth quarter.
Manning struggled for most of the game vs. Ohio State, as Texas were scoreless through three quarters
He finished the game with 170 passing yards, as well as 38 yards on the ground
He was also denied at the goal line on a Tush Push attempt to convert the Longhorns’ best drive of the afternoon midway through the third quarter as they trailed 7-0.
He was quickly brought crashing back down to earth after that drive when he was intercepted by the Buckeyes’ Jermaine Mathews Jr. on a deep attempt.
The hosts went on to turn that interception into a touchdown to extend their lead to 14-0.
He was almost picked off again early in the fourth quarter but the referees eventually determined it to be an incomplete pass.
Manning will have an opportunity to build some momentum when Texas hosts San Jose State next week.
