CFB analyst delivers his verdict on Arch Manning as Texas emerges as favorite to win the 2025 championship

College football analyst Adam Breneman believes the Arch Manning-led Longhorns are Ohio State's biggest obstacles in repeating their 2024 championship campaign.

Breneman, who hosts "Next Up With AB," shared a reel on his Instagram page highlighting his reasons for why Manning could have a huge impact on the college football landscape next season.

"The Arch Manning hype has never died down, and it's for a good reason," Breneman said. "In just 90 attempts this year, he had 13 total touchdowns and a 68% completion rate. If you calculate his stats over a 16-game season relative to Quinn Ewers' pass and rush attempts, Manning would have racked up 5,000 total yards and 50 touchdowns.

"Better than any of this year's Heisman finalists. ESPN has him as a frontrunner for next year's Heisman. And Sports Illustrated said he already looks like the number one overall pick. And I tend to agree. In an era of college football where the transfer portal is your best friend, Manning has done the opposite and waited his turn."

The Longhorns have lost four of their starting five offensive linemen from last season, as well as their top three pass catchers. However, Breneman anticipates receivers DeAndre Moore Jr. and Ryan Wingo to make significant improvements next season as well.

Last season, each of the receivers had about 500 receiving yards, and Wingo had two touchdown catches, both of which came via airmail from Manning himself.

Future looks bright for Arch Manning and Texas

There are certainly some bright spots heading into the 2025 season for the Longhorns.

Texas has the top recruiting class of 2025 heading into the season, an accolade they have enjoyed for the past four seasons in a row now. Not to mention they have lost hardly any of those recruits via the transfer portal in the offseason. As it stands, Vegas odds currently have Texas as the betting odds favorite to win it all in next year's college football season.

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The Manning-led Longhorns won't have to wait long to prove themselves next season either. They're set to face the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 1 of next year's college football season. It could, perhaps, be an early preview of a playoff meeting between the two powerhouse programs later in the year.

Manning will also have to shoulder the burden of a lot of expectations for himself and the Longhorns now that he has earned the starting role.

With two Super Bowl-winning uncles preceding him, and Quinn Ewers having led Texas to back-to-back semifinal playoff appearances in a row during his tenure, the 19-year-old gunslinger will arguably be the player under the biggest microscope next season in 2025.