The first week of college football was headlined by No. 1 Texas traveling to take on No. 3 Ohio State.
Both schools had to throw their new young quarterbacks into the fire after losing last year's starters to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Texas' new signal-caller caught all the attention as Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli, was shoed-in to be the next top pick in the draft—a pick that is likely to be held by the Falcons' biggest rivals, the New Orleans Saints.
However, Arch's season debut went up in flames as he struggled to do anything, leaving Falcons fans laughing at the Saints' misfortunes.
Arch Manning's flop leaves the Saints in even more despair
One of my biggest pet peeves is assuming someone will be the No. 1 pick before they have started a handful of games, like Arch Manning.
Yes, Arch is talented and grew up with legendary mentors. But there is so much more to football, and assuming a phenom will pan out is a dangerous game.
And with that, it is only fair to admit that we can't assume the Saints will have the top pick next year. However, I would put more money down on the Saints ending the season with a top-five pick, at least, than Arch propelling himself to being the consensus No. 1 pick in either of the next two drafts.
We also have to address that this was one game by the young quarterback against a great defense. Nevertheless, no one can sit back and say they are more confident in him after Saturday than they were before.
If the 'Aints were planning on 'tanking for Arch' they might want to reevaluate.
The Longhorns' passer finished the day going 17 for 30 for 170 yards (5.7 avg.) and one touchdown and one interception. He added 38 yards on the ground on 10 carries.
Even his lone touchdown should've arguably been overturned as it looked like the ball wobbled in the receiver's hands and touched the ground.
ARCH MANNING TO PARKING LIVINGSTONE FOR THE TOUCHDOWN@Texasfootball takes one back 🤘 pic.twitter.com/AqihAtErFO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 30, 2025
There were countless passes that were nowhere near the receivers, or that lacked precision, costing Texas valuable yards.
But are/would the Saints actually tank for anyone?
I am not a believer that you can tank in the National Football League. There are too many factors—including 53 players fighting for their livelihoods on each play—to do so.
How are you supposed to approach over 100 people (coaches, players, staff, etc.) and tell them to throw away the season so they can get one person in the building?
In the end, Atlanta Falcons fans just hope the Saints land and waste the top pick next year. The best hope for that is that no player in college football establishes themselves as the clear-cut top pick, including Manning, if he decides to declare for the draft.
That said, this isn't me rooting for Manning's downfall; he seems like a great kid. But his debut was wildly inconsistent, and we all hope nothing but the worst for the Dirty Birds' division rivals.