Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd — 3 & Out: Instant REACTION to Arch Manning's Debut and OSU Taking Down Texas
Date: August 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded at the start of college football Week 1, centers on an immediate and candid reaction to Arch Manning's highly-anticipated debut as Texas QB against Ohio State, and OSU's victory over Texas. The host gives a passionate, critical lens on the overblown hype around Arch Manning, the reality of his rough debut, and wider implications for elite quarterback development and college football's rapidly shifting landscape. The episode wraps with thoughts on Deion Sanders' impact at Colorado and a sobering discussion on how NIL and the transfer portal are reshaping, and arguably dooming, smaller school football programs.

Key Topics & Insights

1. The Arch Manning Debut: Hype vs. Reality

• The Unprecedented Hype
  • The excitement and national anticipation around Arch Manning’s first start are described as "insane" and "beyond over the top."
  • The host draws comparisons to other sports, arguing football is unique in that "hype doesn't last long because eventually you got to play the game" [04:45].
  • Quote:

    "I've said this for a long time. The hype on Arch Manning was fucking insane." (Host, 04:45)

• Pressure and Nerves
  • Arch's situation is contrasted with other top prospects:

    "In basketball, sometimes the hype, hey, this guy's going to be the number one pick... but football’s kind of the opposite." [03:35]

  • The host empathizes with Arch’s nerves but criticizes his inability to settle in:

    "I wasn't going to judge him for the first several drives ... but you thought as the game went on he would kind of settle down. And I watched a guy that missed easy throw after easy throw after easy throw." (Host, 09:00)

• Performance Analysis
  • The debut is labeled "really bad" despite a late touchdown and a nice sideline throw.
  • Manning missed "countless throws that should be considered layups," held the ball too long, and made ill-advised fastballs on short routes [09:30–11:20].
  • Quote:

    "Today was not great, not great at all. And up until a couple throws at the end, the touchdown pass was nice... but overall, I thought today was really bad." (Host, 07:49)

  • The final drive symbolizes his struggles, especially a key miss on a simple cross-field pass [13:05].
• Perspective on Manning's Future
  • Emphasizes that his performance does not define his career—plenty of time to develop, but the gap is clear.
  • If a previous starter, like Quinn Ewers, played the same way, the public would demand Arch take over, highlighting the double-standard created by hype.

2. Game Context: Coaching, Playcalling, and OSU's Dominance

• Texas Playcalling & Sarkisian's Challenges
  • Suggests playcalling was hampered by Arch’s erratic play, creating hesitancy and stalling rhythm [10:35–12:05].
  • Quote:

    "It's very hard as a play caller when your quarterback can't make easy throws to call plays." (Host, 10:45)

• Ohio State's Game Plan
  • Credits OSU’s defensive coordinator (Matt Patricia) and notes OSU "punked" Texas at the line [08:40].
  • Outcome: If told before the game OSU would only score 14 and control Jeremiah Smith, Texas would have gladly taken it—shows how critical the QB piece is [14:35].
  • OSU, like Texas, is now as much of an "SEC program" as their actual Big Ten rivals, due to breadth of recruiting and NIL muscle.

3. On Quarterback Hype and Evaluation

• Football’s Demands vs. Other Sports
  • In basketball and baseball, pure hype and high school performance mean more for draft stock than in football, where "to get drafted number one overall, you’ve gotta be pretty freaking good" [06:20].
• Host’s Experience and Skepticism
  • Leans on decades of watching, scouting, and working in football:

    "You've got to be very careful about hype because hype in football doesn't last long."

  • Points to other 5-star QBs who never pan out, as well as overlooked players who become stars.

4. Broader College Football Trends & Concerns

Coaching Trees & Program Shifts

• Observes that both Ryan Day (OSU) and Steve Sarkisian (Texas) owe their jobs to legends (Urban Meyer, Nick Saban), but their fates come down to quarterback play and continued recruitment.

NIL, Transfer Portal, and "Death of the Little Guy"

• NIL + Portal Realities
  • "It's over" for mid-majors and smaller Power 4 programs. Best players will always be "bought and paid for" via transfer and NIL—making consistent Cinderella stories impossible [29:50–33:20].
  • Real examples given with recent players (Ashton Genti at Boise, Ryan Matthews at Fresno, Josh Simmons leaving San Diego State).
  • Quote:

    "When you have an elite talent, the moment you become good, like, it's clear, like there's no denying how talented a guy is. He's going to go to Oregon, he's going to go to Ohio State, he's going to go to Alabama, he's going to go to LSU." (Host, 32:10)

  • Host compares the new ecosystem to business, saying Target and Walmart have always squashed the "little guy," and college football is now the same [31:30].
  • The transfer portal is likened to a dating app for players—"but basically has to buy you" [33:50].
• Impact on Playoff Selection & Smaller Conferences
  • Host laments selection processes that guarantee spots to non-Power teams just to avoid litigation, arguing it's increasingly irrelevant as these programs can't keep the right talent.
  • Quote:

    “It was always cool knowing, like we could take on the big dog. You can't anymore and you won’t even have the players on your team…” (Host, 34:50)

5. Quick Hits & Notable Moments

Deion Sanders and Colorado

• Despite a loss, Deion is credited with revitalizing a "dead, dead football brand," making them watchable, selling out games, and bringing in millions of viewers [25:20–27:00].
• Quarterback play a problem but the foundation and energy around the program are "awesome" and "business-wise, worth every penny."
• On Shilo Sanders’ number being retired:

  "This is pretty nuts... but just in terms of Deion's impact to that program… He resurrected and saved that program because it was deader than a doornail." [27:25]

• Projects Deion won’t be in Boulder for long, implying his next job will be at a major national program.

Timelines for Key Segments

• Arch Manning Debut Reaction: 03:05–14:45
• Texas/Ohio State Game/Coaching Discussion: 08:30–16:50
• NIL, Transfer Portal, Small Program Future: 29:45–36:45
• Deion Sanders/Colorado Segment: 25:05–29:05
• Closing Reflections on College Football Power Structure: 34:00–37:30

Notable Quotes

• “Today was not great, not great at all. And up until a couple throws at the end, the touchdown pass was nice... but overall, I thought today was really bad.” (Host, 07:49)
• “I've said this for a long time. The hype on Arch Manning was fucking insane.” (Host, 04:45)
• "It's very hard as a play caller when your quarterback can't make easy throws to call plays." (Host, 10:45)
• "When you have an elite talent... he's going to go to Oregon, he's going to go to Ohio State, he's going to go to Alabama, he's going to go to lsu." (Host, 32:10)
• "He resurrected and saved that program because it was deader than a doornail." (Host, 27:45)

Episode Tone & Highlights

The host's style is raw, passionate, and highly opinionated—delivering both in-the-moment reaction to a seismic college football game and broader, sobering analysis of the sport's underlying financial and cultural realities. There’s candor about the pain of seeing legendary mid-majors become irrelevant, and a clear eye for both the fleeting nature of hype and the cold business logic now running the sport.

Listeners will come away with:

• New perspectives on Arch Manning’s daunting path forward
• Understanding of why hype in football is so often misleading
• An unvarnished diagnosis of how college football’s power structure is entrenching further via NIL and transfers
• The sense that, for all the flaws, the sport’s atmosphere and drama remain unrivaled as "college football is back, baby."