Arch Manning’s chance, Ohio State’s toughness, the SEC’s move on LSU and more | Bohls’ 9 Things

AUSTIN – While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

1. Uncommon denominator

If you’re looking for a common denominator in Texas’ twin losses to Ohio State the past two years, there’s plenty of culprits. After all, the Buckeyes are loaded. Try 25 Buckeyes players who were drafted by NFL teams off Ryan Day’s last two squads. But Texas has talent galore as well and had 18 drafted. … I’d put the biggest blame on the notion that Ohio State has been the more physical and tougher team each meeting. The Buckeyes defense stuffed Arch Manning and C.J. Baxter on three runs inside the 5-yard line to hold the Longhorns out of the end zone. The season before, who can forget the toss sweep from the 1-yard line that lost seven yards. The next play Jack Sawyer etched his name into Buckeyes lore by his strip of Quinn Ewers and scoop and score as Texas was trying to go in to tie the game at 21-21. Instead, that reversal made it 28-14. Ballgame. You can’t score from the 1, you can’t win. … Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that after reviewing last year’s game, he believes the Longhorns were physical and prepared. He recited their running game, with 37 carries for 166 yards and a 4.5 yard per carry average. He’s right. “People think we just went out there and laid an egg and had minus-10 yards rushing or something,” he said. “We ran the ball pretty well. I felt like the passing game was not where it needed to be the first 2 ½, three quarters or so in that game. Then when you get behind, you’ve got to start throwing the ball.” He’s right. But Texas must run better Saturday than against Texas State when 12 of its 36 rushes went for 1, 0 or negative yards. … Sarkisian blames the poor passing game in Columbus and having to play from behind that game. And who can forget the 75-yard screen pass to TreVeyon Henderson for a pivotal touchdown in the Cotton Bowl just before the half when Texas inexplicably blitzed?

2. So, maybe the SEC is serious after all

The league fired yet another shot across the bow of one Lane Kiffin and his rebellious LSU Tigers when it filed an amendment to its federal lawsuit against LSU, Kiffin and school officials Tuesday, which seeks the authority for the SEC to kick LSU out of the league. The school presidents and chancellors will vote Thursday. You don’t ruffle the feathers of the best conference in all the land (all sports taken together) and expect the SEC to go gently into the night. Good on the SEC. Give ’em hell. Yes, it’s probably saber-rattling, but can you blame the SEC? A phone call to Texas president Jim Davis was not returned Tuesday. … I wrote somewhat facetiously last week that the SEC should consider replacements like Houston, Michigan (not after the clock malfunction), Boise State and even North Dakota State. I’m all for it. You either obey the rules the other 15 schools agree to or you go play in someone else’s sandbox. Maybe the SEC could swap Miami for LSU and add yet another powerhouse. … Again, Texas Tech, in my opinion, cost itself dearly this summer by trying to subordinate NCAA and Big 12 rules by fighting for known gambler Brendan Sorsby in violation of one of the NCAA’s simplest rules. I’ve been a big fan of Texas Tech because I have two sons who went there and I love Red Raiders like Kent Hance, Mike Leach, Gerald Myers and too many staffers to name. But Tech went rogue, so why would the SEC want to trade LSU for Villain behind Door No. 2 Texas Tech? … Maybe SMU makes more sense as a program on the rise with a big war chest. Or UTEP. After going to a nine-game schedule, every SEC head coach would vote to invite somebody he could beat. I wouldn’t mind the SEC approaching Indiana as a member. Florida State isn’t as attractive any more since the Seminoles are playing more like a second-tier Group of 6 team. Would love having Curt Cignetti in the league. Here’s betting LSU kowtows and never adds any of these former pros to its roster and agrees to play nice from now on. LSU needs the SEC much more than vice versa.

3. Who’s better. Arch Manning or Julian Sayin?

Here’s a real chance for The Golden One to make a statement that he is an elite quarterback on the same level of the Sayins, Dante Moores, Darian Mensahs and Trinidad Chamblisses. … This represents a huge opportunity for Arch Manning in his maturation as a quarterback. He struggled mightily last year in his first game as the full-time starter from the opening pass. When I asked him his recollections from that game, he said, “It’s a rough film to watch. I don’t like watching it that much.” The moment was too big for him in Columbus, but he rectified that with spectacular play after Halloween. Manning has 13-3 record as a starter. … Manning is regarded as one of the most boring interviews on the team despite having a wicked deadpan wit if only because he’s so guarded per instructions from his famous grandfather and uncles. He joked Monday that his dad, Cooper, had always told him to enjoy the entire college experience from practices to the locker-room camaraderie to the games. “So I’m going to enjoy Monday before a big game,” Manning said. “I’m going to enjoy this press conference.” That wisecrack broke up the entire room. I then asked Arch if his dad also told him not to lie. … The best interview is always with the eminently likable Hero Kanu.

4. What are we doing here?

So much for integrity and transparency. Neither was present at the end of the Michigan fiasco. This first real week of college football was a conspiracist’s dream, especially now that the Mid-American Conference has officially filed an appeal over the ending, claiming “replay protocol was not properly followed.” No kidding. … Michigan got one of the most favorable officiating calls in history when an extra second was added to the clock even though the entire world couldn’t believe their eyes and thought Western Michigan had pulled off the first big upset of the year and knocked off the Wolverines. As NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said, the Broncos player who was out of bounds and then touched the ball didn’t touch it until after the clock ran out. The ball clearly looked as if it was still in the air when the clock showed 0:00. … The fact that the clock on television and the actual clock weren’t in sync is an appalling breach of football etiquette. Why have a clock if it’s not accurate? I assume Connor Stalions was the clock operator at the Big House. There was zero transparency and the Big Ten didn’t add any clarification until two hours later. … I really wish Michigan would forfeit the game. How classy would that be? We’d all be fans of the Wolverines for doing the right thing. OK, that team down south wouldn’t be fans, but some of the rest of us would. … The controversial ending obscures an even deeper problem. Michigan looked downright awful. What’s happened to Michigan? Oh, and the fans storm the field. Pleeeze. … And Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor will have a Power 4 head coaching job next season. Talk about a classy response. … Hated Notre Dame’s blue uniforms. When Sarkisian was asked about them, he said, “Well, they’re blue.” Enough said.

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5. A new team on top

As much as I dislike LSU’s bold move to add NFL castoffs, I try to always remain objective. The Tigers were the best team I’ve seen so far. So I filed my Associated Press Top 25 ballot Tuesday and I reshuffled my teams and have a new No. 1 with my vote. I put LSU on the top rung because the Tigers were the most impressive team I saw all weekend. I moved Miami up to No. 2 because the Hurricanes looked awesome and even better than last season, when they lost to Indiana in the championship game. I bumped Oregon down several spots after struggling with a strong Boise State team. … Not every AP voter uses the same approach to filling out his or her Top 25. I have always been very flexible and been willing to make drastic adjustments, especially in September when we’re figuring out which are the best teams. I never have bought in to the philosophy that you can only move a team up or down a spot or two. … I also left my preseason No. 20 Michigan team off my ballot entirely, but not to punish it for the tainted victory. The Wolverines just didn’t look anything like a Top 25 team. … Clearly neither did Clemson. Heck, the Tigers didn’t look like a top 50 team. Could this be the beginning of the end for Dabo Swinney? He then inexcusably went after beat writer Chapel Fowler of The State, who asked Swinney if he had any regrets about roster construction in the offseason. “No, I don’t, man. I regret being 0-1 right now. I regret that,” Swinney said. “Can you ask me at the end of the season? The season ain’t over. We’ve got one game. We’ve got 11 more. What if we go 11-1? Promise me you’ll ask me that. I’m not answering questions like that, Chapel. I know that’s your role in this environment, to be the guy who wants to create all the controversy and ask the controversial questions. That’s who you are. It’s fine. I get it.” … And I have the Buckeyes at No. 6 because they didn’t play anybody good. Don’t fret, i-dotters, if they win over Texas big or small, I will definitely bump them up on my ballot.

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6. Things I think I know

I think Bryce Underwood is done. … I think the biggest thing I learned from the first full weekend of college football is that Malachi Toney just won the Heisman. I loved the Miami receiver as a freshman last year, and he wowed again. … I think if he’s not the clear Heisman frontrunner, it’s his teammate, quarterback Darian Mensah, who looked phenomenal. … That said I think Stanford, the team the Hurricanes punked, is not very good. Besides Miami, the rest of the ACC went 1-5 against Power 4 teams although I do like Louisville a lot. … Wasn’t wild when Toney and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith did the Heisman pose. It’s one game in September, guys. Have some humility. … I think I loved Baylor coach Dave Aranda’s decision to go for two in the final 10 seconds of his one-point loss to Auburn after a late touchdown. I’m a big proponent of going for two rather than settling for overtime because you can win the game outright and the other team has no chance to answer. … I think my Sitting Ducks fantasy team is doomed because I have little firepower beyond Jahmyr Gibbs. A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson and Dak Prescott. … I think Jerritt Elliott’s Texas volleyball team is scuffling after his club lost its third match of the year and got swept for a second time by Louisville after losing in straight sets to Nebraska. … I applaud the attempt to play a volleyball doubleheader at Wrigley Field until the Chicago humidity and accompanying moisture became too dangerous and forced the second match between Nebraska and Missouri to be canceled. It does tell you how much interest in the sport is soaring, however. I’d be real curious to see how many Texas could draw to a volleyball match at DKR.

7. A visit with David Pollack

My Austin Ridge Bible Church invited former three-time All-America defensive end David Pollack to address more than 1,000 men for Warrior Night. He shared his Christian walk and his intense passion for family. He has gone through more than his share of adversity with a broken neck on the second play of his first game of his second season with the Cincinnati Bengals, a firing by ESPN three years ago and his wife’s brain cancer. He never spent a day in church during his childhood, but once he did, he was hooked. “The Bible is the most studied, the most transcribed, the most hated on, the most scrutinized book in the history of mankind. This is a history book. The Bible is real. It is historic. And historically correct. God gave us a playbook for every single situation in life.” … He also talked football and said the best team in Texas “will be Texas Tech. They had so many guys that got drafted on defense, and everybody says they can’t replace that. Oh they will. They’ll be dominant.” … On the transfer portal and NIL, he said, “The problem is they happened together. It was like putting lighter fluid on a fire.” … The best trash talker he’s ever been around? “I ain’t never seen anything like Chad Ochocinco. I went to his house and played Madden. He had a $1 bill on the mantle with his face on it.” … David’s son, Nicholas, is a quarterback who has committed to Clemson. The Tigers do need help. … Pollack said the biggest priorities in life are his wife and his kids, teaching his kids to respect his wife, being more concerned with his children’s lives and not their 40 times or their stats. “Let your kids fail,” he also advised. It used to be helicopter parents. Now it’s lawn mower parents. Failure is a part of that. You won’t be at college to help them make those tough decisions.”

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8. Scattershooting

While wondering whatever happened to former Buckeye Heisman winner Troy Smith, who AI says is a charity advocate and event host.

9. On the couch

Really enjoyed but also cringed as I watched “Audacity” on AMC. Billy Magnussen killed it as Duncan Park, the CEO and creator of Hypergnosis, a company that, uh, shares the personal data of millions. So does Zach Galifianakis as the moody, eccentric Carl Bardolph, who makes silverware a lethal weapon. Great storyline, super dialogue. Gave it 8 ducks.

Crazy prediction

The Detroit Lions will beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.

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This article originally published at Arch Manning’s chance, Ohio State’s toughness, the SEC’s move on LSU and more | Bohls’ 9 Things.