Urban Meyer redirects criticism away form Arch Manning after his disappointing debut

After Texas's 14-7 Week 1 loss to Ohio State, plenty of people have heaped blame on Longhorns QB Arch Manning. But not Urban Meyer. The three-time champion and college football analyst actually took some of the blame for Texas's no-show off the shoulders of the Heisman contender QB on The Triple Option podcast.

Meyer's take on Manning

Meyer praised the game as an epic battle between a pair of outstanding defenses. He accurately noted that Ohio State won the game with 203 yards of total offense on the day. The issue with Texas, Meyer indicated, wasn't in the player under center.

You can say what you want about Arch Manning. And Mark, no one was open and he was getting pressured.
Urban Meyer

Mark Ingram reluctantly agrees

Co-host and former Alabama running back Mark Ingram wasn't as unqualified in his positivity toward Manning, but he ended up on the same page as Meyer.

He had a couple of opportunities. He had a bad interception to Wingo to the right. And then, that third down shallow cross ... the most crucial moment of the game, where you expect your guy to be able to make the throw, he threw it high and behind. And if he had completed that pass, we might be having a different discussion today, because there was a lot of room to run after that play. But Arch Manning will be just fine.
Mark Ingram

Manning's tough day

Manning ended up 17 for 30 for 170 yards and a score, as well as the interception that Ingram mentioned. He rushed for an additional 38 yards on the ground, meaning that he personally actually outgained the Ohio State team, even if it wasn't enough to land the victory.

Manning did finish 15th of the 16 SEC starting QBs in quarterback rating, leading only Kentucky's Zach Calzada. He was 13th in the SEC in passing yardage and his 5.7 yards per attempt again topped only Calzada among starting SEC passers.

Still, even if much of the college football fan base is heaping blame on Manning for Texas's performance, at least one legendary coach isn't joining that crowd.