Tom Brady Discusses Arch Manning's Struggles in Texas' Loss to Ohio State on Video

NFL legend Tom Brady tried to find some silver linings in Arch Manning's forgettable performance as Texas lost 14-7 to Ohio State to open the 2025 season.

Speaking with Pro Football Focus' Cris Collinsworth, Brady said the rise of social media has led fans and the media to draw even quicker judgments — both positive and negative — on players, which he called a "blessing and a curse" (38:42 mark of the video below).

"The curse is, a lot of people pile on," he said. "The blessing is, there needs to be resilience built up in a quarterback as well. Even though he didn't have his best came today and they lost, if he uses this to his advantage — Arch — he's gonna be tougher for it. And he's gonna have a better next game because of it."

It was always going to be one extreme or the other with Manning in the aftermath of Week 1. Either he'd play well and become a favorite for the Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft in the process, or he'd perform badly and have a lot of people basically say he's an overrated talent who's coasting on his family name.

Unfortunately for the Longhorns, it was the latter. Manning finished 17-of-30 for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. There were some brief flashes of brilliance, but he otherwise looked shaky in his debut as Texas' full-time starter.

College football is a sport that's ripe for overreactions. The regular season is only 12 games long — 13 if you reach the conference championship — and one loss used to knock you out of the national championship conversation.

In an era with a 12-team postseason playoff, though, it doesn't have to stay this way.

Texas can suffer another defeat, maybe even two, and still be in the frame for the College Football Playoff. Making a deep CFP run again would mean playing 16, possibly 17 games, by which point the OSU loss would be a distant memory.

Fans can point out how much Manning underwhelmed in Columbus, Ohio, without labeling him a bust. Considering Texas plays Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M ahead, there's a lot of time for him to shift the narrative from Week 1.