Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning Struggles in First Half vs. Ohio State

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes finally kicked off in Columbus on Saturday after months of offseason hype.

Much of this hype was due to the season debut of Arch Manning, who begins his first full season as a starter after two years at Texas.

However, he looked a bit shaky in the first half as Texas headed into halftime down 7-0 to Ohio State.

Arch Manning First Half Stats

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning against Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After one half of football, Manning was 5 of 10 passing for 26 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

He showed why he's a dual-threat quarterback by picking up two first downs on the ground but was also sacked once before trying to scramble up the middle.

Manning's first pass attempt was a brutal miss that skipped into the dirt, but he eventually converted a quarterback sneak on a 4th and 1 at the Texas 35-yard line.

Arch Manning's first pass of the game is incomplete pic.twitter.com/z3VojXCnFR
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But on Texas' second fourth-down attempt of the opening drive, Manning appeared to have tons of open grass to his right on what seemed to be a read option play, but he elected to hand it off to running back CJ Baxter, who was stuffed short of the line to gain.

Of course, the Ohio State defense deserves tons of credit for how it performed early. Coverage downfield was tight and pressure at the line of scrimmage forced some poor throws amid quick pressure. Still, there was some opportunites for the Longhorns, and the offense -- led by Manning -- failed to capitalize.

Julian Sayin Outperforms Arch Manning in First Half

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin against the Texas Longhorns. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

On the flip side, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who is making his first-career start, outperformed Manning in the first half. Despite some uncharacteristic drops from star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Sayin made some impressive throws with pressure in his face, most notably a tough nine-yard gain down the right sideline to Carnell Tate after having Texas star linebacker Colin Simmons in his grill in the end zone.

Sayin finished the first half 6 of 11 passing for 53 yards. Though Texas' defense made some nice plays against the run early, Sayin was hardly fazed.

Ohio State will receive the second-half kickoff looking to build on the lead in what has been a strong defensive battle. If Manning and the offense can't figure something out, the Buckeyes will likely be able to grind out a win in Columbus.