Arch Manning Says Texas Doesn't Have Target 'On Our Back' Before Opener vs. Ohio State

Texas is No. 1 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll to start the 2025 college football season, but that doesn't mean there is a target on its back.

At least not in Arch Manning's eyes.

"We kind of try to shift the narrative," the quarterback told reporters Tuesday ahead of Saturday's highly anticipated clash against Ohio State. "We're going for everyone else. The target's not on our back, we got a red dot on everyone else."

Manning may feel that way, but Texas is going to be seen as a measuring-stick game for the majority of its opponents.

After all, it is a blueblood powerhouse and atop the rankings. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning is also arguably the most famous player in college football ahead of the 2025 season in large part because of his last name.

While this is the first time he's entering the season as a starter, he was a 5-star recruit and the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2023, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Still, there is something to be said about Texas feeling like the hunters and not the hunted in regards to Saturday's game. It is the Buckeyes who enter the contest as the reigning national champions, and they just so happened to defeat the Longhorns in the semifinals of last season's College Football Playoff.

Many of the players will be different, including the two starting quarterbacks after Quinn Ewers and Will Howard entered the NFL. But Texas will undoubtedly have revenge on its mind when it takes the field Saturday.

If it can get that revenge, it will have an inside track on a CFP spot and remain under the spotlight as the season progresses.