Tony Thomas
Author
The sport of college football has experienced a sea change with the advent of NIL and the transfer portal. As a result, preseason rankings have clouded the lenses on how we see a player or team leading up to the start of a season.
The hype train has barreled down the tracks into darkness at the end of the tunnel. Great expectations have now withered and died like a bright red rose sprayed by Pepé Le Pew.
Two blue bloods of this great sport, loved by millions, have taken the field this regular season as shells of their preseason selves. One with a signal caller from football royalty, basking in the green glow of a NIL value as high as the Texas heat.
The other leads an offense that, on paper, is one of the most talented in the FBS.
Arch Manning took over the No. 8 Longhorns’ offense as the starting quarterback for the preseason No. 1 team in the country going into the 2025 season. They proceeded to score just seven points in a road loss at Ohio State.
In week 2, Manning and the Longhorns appeared to be clicking in all phases of the game, with Manning accounting for five touchdowns in a 38-7 beat down of San Jose State.
Then against UTEP last Saturday, Manning completed just 44 percent of his passes and threw a touchdown pass and an INT. He did add two rushing TDs.
The Longhorns have a championship-caliber defense, allowing just 10.3 points per contest. However, they are being betrayed by a sputtering offense, poor game-planning and frankly, poor coaching and development.
Manning at least had some college game experience coming into this season, which was more than Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin could say. But, Sayin got the last word. Something is off with the Longhorns’ passing attack, either from a scheme perspective or a development issue with Manning’s throwing mechanics.
Was Manning unfairly put on a pigskin-wrapped pedestal because of his last name? Probably. But it also appears his own coaches responsible for his development are failing him.
The Longhorns need to open up the playbook and review the section that covers pass plays over 25 yards. Manning has completed only seven passes covering that distance. After the Sam Houston game on Saturday, the schedule only gets harder.
Coming into this season, the 2025 version of LSU is the most talented of Brian Kelly’s tenure. Kelly raided the transfer portal and brought in immense talent in all three phases of the game.
CB Monsoor Delane (9 tackles, 4 PBUs, 1 INT), WR Barion Brown, to name a few. Brown is easily the fastest player on the field, and Delane is as advertised and is a standout among coach Corey Raymond’s talented defensive backfield.
The No. 3-ranked Tigers’ offense is dead on arrival, averaging a paltry 20 points per game. This is a unit that returned/added the following:
LSU’s defense is also a championship-caliber unit (allowing nine points per game). However, they are being sabotaged by conservative play-calling and a less than fiery spirit to put the ball in the end zone.
Thomas and Brown can outrun any defender that lines up against them. But the fans and the media have yet to see that on the field. These two speedsters could benefit the Tigers well with a weekly, heavy dose of jet sweeps and other plays to take advantage of their game speed.
But instead, writers on the LSU beat get berated by Kelly at a post-game press conference when they dare to question this offense’s inability to move the ball and score (Kelly has since apologized to one local sports anchor for such questioning).
Two top 10 teams in the Preseason Top 25 Poll, Clemson and Notre Dame, now have two losses each before the end of September.
If this season is not a winning argument for getting rid of the preseason rankings, I don’t know what is. If I had a vote, I wouldn’t put out a Top 25 poll until Week 4. That way you have a better body of work from which to evaluate teams based on actual play on the field.
To LSU and Texas, the first team to score 30 points against their FCS and Conference USA opponents on Saturday, wins. Tag, you’re it.
In the series history, the Tigers have outscored the Lions 79-7 and own a 2-0 record.
As a Vanderbilt football fan who’s been cheering from the stands since the early ’90s – back when we were still dreaming of consistent bowl games and the occasional upset over a ranked opponent – I’ve witnessed more heartbreak than highlights. Remember the 1990s? We had flashes of being headed in the right direction under […]
D.B.U. was back as the Tigers picked off five passes on Saturday night
