Texas, Manning earning bettors' attention

Texas hasn't won a national championship since 2005 and hadn't entered a campaign as the title favorite this century - until now. ESPN BET and theScore Bet list the Longhorns as co-favorites alongside Ohio State (+550) to win the title.

National title odds

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Lofty expectations are part of Texas' DNA, but Steve Sarkisian's program faces more pressure to win than ever before. Bettors trust it can live up to projections: Nearly 23% of national title tickets and 15% of the money is on Texas, by far the most of any title contender.

The public's belief in the Longhorns is as much about the quarterback as anything else. Arch Manning garnered attention well before he enrolled at Texas, as Peyton and Eli's nephew has long been expected to carry on the Manning legacy of quarterback excellence.

He signed with Texas after being named the top recruit in the 2023 class, even though Manning knew he'd have to wait to become the starter. He only played in one game his freshman season, but he earned some meaningful playing time in his sophomore campaign as Quinn Ewers' backup.

That season, Manning started two contests when Ewers was sidelined with an injury and earned sporadic snaps in big spots even when Ewers was healthy. Manning tossed 939 yards, nine touchdowns, and just two interceptions while completing 67.8% of his passes, and he rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries. He's proven himself as a dual-threat signal-caller, a capability his uncles never had.

The Longhorns earned their second straight playoff appearance after suffering just two pre-playoff losses, both of which came against Georgia in the regular season and the SEC championship. They then lost to Ohio State, the eventual national champion, in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

But with Ewers out of the picture, Manning has assumed full rein of the offense.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum declared Manning the best quarterback college football has seen since Tim Tebow, and that hype is translating to the betting markets. Manning is the Heisman favorite (+600), and he accounts for 15% of the Heisman tickets and 13% of the money, more than any other player. Cade Klubnik (+800) and Garrett Nussmeier (+900) have the next-best odds.

Sarkisian deserves credit, too, for flipping Texas' fortunes since he took over in 2021. After a decade of disappointment and mediocrity, Sarkisian led Texas to its first College Football Playoff appearance in 2023 - back when it was still a four-team playoff - and helped the team reach double-digit wins for just the second time since 2010. The Longhorns took that momentum even further in 2024, their first season in the SEC after leaving the Big 12, winning a school record 13 matchups after a semifinal appearance in the expanded playoff.

The Longhorns consistently land the top high school and transfer talent thanks to a war chest of NIL resources. Last season, they returned most of their key defensive contributors and added depth to their pass defense, which tied BYU for the most interceptions and allowed 173.8 passing yards per game, the nation's seventh-best mark.

As for Manning's weapons, Texas lost wideout Matt Golden and tight end Gunnar Helm to the NFL. However, the Longhorns return DeAndre Moore Jr. and Ryan Wingo, two highly productive receivers, and acquired one of the tight ends available in the portal in Jack Endries, so Manning won't be short on playmakers.

Texas opens the season with its toughest test, a matchup against defending national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes are favored by 2.5 points in the clash in Columbus.

The title odds will obviously shift depending on the result, but both teams can reasonably be expected to compete for the title in January.

Sam Oshtry is a sports writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.

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