Kirk Herbstreit Surprised Texas Didn't Use Arch Manning 'Wrinkle' on Crucial Play

Kirk Herbstreit thought Texas might go to Arch Manning at the goal line late in the fourth quarter.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Manning carries the ball for a first down in the second quarter as the Texas Longhorns play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final at AT&T Stadium / Sara Diggins-USAT Today Network via Imagn Images

As the Texas Longhorns' tried to punch the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, they had to get through Ohio State's premier red zone defense. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State one-yard line, the Longhorns tried a toss play to Quintrevion Wisner which resulted in a seven-yard loss.

The big loss led to Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer's game-sealing strip sack and fumble return touchdown two plays later. The Buckeyes won the Cotton Bowl game 28-14 and punched their ticket to the national championship game against Notre Dame on Jan. 20.

Ohio State's defense swallowed up the Texas offense, which had a chance to tie the game late. Nothing the Longhorns called worked which begs the question, what if they tried a different approach?

After the game, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler discussed the second-down play with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter. Herbstreit mentioned he was surprised Texas didn't try to bring in the more mobile Arch Manning at quarterback to bring a new element and punch the ball into the end zone.

"I'm not going to ever second guess any coach, especially a guy like [Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian] who works so hard at that," Herbstreit said on SportsCenter. "But I thought you might see the wrinkle of Arch come in during that situation with his ability to run maybe a zone read, maybe get him on the edge. Again, I'm not going to second guess it, but that wide sweep with the Ohio State defense as fast-flowing as they are, that was a tough one to go to."

Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler talk with SVP about the Texas toss play on 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line that resulted in a 7-yard loss (2 plays before the Ohio State game-sealing TD). 🏈🎙️#CFP pic.twitter.com/P5nhEq2c9x

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2025

Manning had just one rush for eight yards against Ohio State, which came in the second quarter. The redshirt freshman quarterback had 939 passing yards and nine touchdown throws over the season, plus four rushing scores.

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