Arch Manning vs. Julian Sayin: The Next Great QB Rivalry

For years, Peyton Manning versus [insert famous starting quarterback] was a marquee attraction in the sport of football.

Manning vs. Brady. Manning vs. Rodgers. Manning vs. Brees. Manning vs. Rivers. Manning vs. Romo. Manning vs. Manning.

Arch Manning, Peyton’s nephew, is now a marquee attraction in the sport of football—and whichever quarterback opposes him gets a similar rub of fame.

Ohio State’s Julian Sayin has already gone toe-to-toe with the prince of football’s royal family.

In Sayin’s first-ever career start, on August 30, 2025, he and the Buckeyes defeated Manning and the Texas Longhorns, 14-7.

Just sayin’ (sorry, had to), but Manning versus Sayin feels like football’s next top quarterback rivalry.

“Manning vs. Sayin II” takes place this weekend in Austin, Texas.

The matchup has all the glitz and glamour of a mid-2000s Indianapolis Colts versus New England Patriots game, as Sayin and Ohio State will enter enemy territory as the No. 1 team in the country. Manning and the Longhorns aren’t too shabby either, sitting at No. 4 in the latest AP Poll.

Sayin completed 13-of-20 passes for 126 yards and 1 TD. He did not throw a pick.

The Buckeyes QB did make a huge throw early in the fourth quarter, hitting Carnell Tate for a 40-yard touchdown pass that put Ohio State up by two scores.

Manning, meanwhile, went 17-of-30 for 170 yards and 1 TD. He was picked off once.

“Not a lot of good memories from a year ago,” Manning said this week of the 2025 showdown against the Buckeyes. “Hoping to have a good game this year.

“It’s a rough film to watch. I don’t like watching it that much.”

Both quarterbacks now have a full season of being the starter for an elite college football program under their belts.

This year’s matchup, should certainly feature more offensive fireworks.

Heisman hopefuls
The victor of “Manning vs. Sayin II” will go a long way in determining this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.

The current Heisman Trophy odds at Fanatics Sportsbook look like this:

Manning turned in an eye-popping performance in Week 1 of the Longhorns 2026 season as he completed 20-of-27 passes for 305 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT in a 59-7 blowout win over Texas State.

Sayin was equally as impressive in Ohio State’s 56-3 rampage over Ball State last weekend. The Carlsbad, California native completed 21-of-25 passes for 320 yards and 3 TDs. He did not throw an interception, and also posted a rushing touchdown.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who has long been a collegiate quarterback whisperer, is highly impressed with both QBs.

“You see the level of confidence both guys are playing with,” Sarkisian said this week about Manning and Sayin. “I think what you notice is the presence in the pocket. I think you notice their confidence to use their legs - you saw Julian do it last week, he tucked it and scored a touchdown. I think the confidence both guys deliver the ball with, you can see the trust in timing. Pretty drastic difference of the two players now the second time around going up against one another. Should be pretty high-level quarterback play on Saturday.”

An NFL rivalry brewing?
The 2027 NFL Draft is projected to have one of the top quarterback classes of all-time, with 5-7 QBs possibly going in the first round.

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson posted a new mock draft this week and had Manning going No. 3 overall to the Cleveland Browns, and Sayin going No. 11 overall to the New York Jets.

“Sayin is incredibly accurate,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote this week. “I see some Brock Purdy to his game.”

As for Manning, who is still just 22-years-old but has had his game scrutinized for years, Kiper said that he must improve his accuracy if he hopes to be the top overall pick in 2027.

“There’s still a lot to work on, a lot to really shore up and refine for Arch Manning,” Kiper said on First Draft with Field Yates last month. “But the talent’s undeniable. Obviously, that name on the back of the jersey, ‘16’ with ‘Manning’. The size, the speed, the toughness, and obviously the arm strength. He’s got everything you want.

“But for Arch, he’s got to be more accurate. You’ve got to hit every throw, the easy throws. The ball placement on some throws when they were completed was a little off … he’s got to improve accuracy and ball placement. If he does that … this is the year he should put it all together … and he could emerge in this draft as the top quarterback.”

Summer camp buds, but not quite BFFs
Manning and Sayin got to know one another a bit this summer at the 30th annual Manning Passing Academy, a quarterback camp for youth football players hosted by the Manning family.

Both Manning and Sayin served as camp counselors at the academy that’s annually held in the heart of SEC country in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

“We were coaching drills right next to each other, so we talked a little bit,” Manning told the Austin American-Statesman about Sayin. “We didn’t really go out to dinner, just the two of us or anything thing, but yea, he’s a good guy.”

Despite the camp being run by Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and Arch’s father, Cooper, Arch was apparently booed by some of the campers in attendance this summer - according to The Ringer’s Todd McShay.

“I’m down at the Manning Passing Academy and there are some [expletives] in the stands who are actually booing Arch,” McShay said on The Brandon Walker College Football Show. “And I’m like, the Manning family has invited you in, one of 1,400 campers to come in, and we’ve got a group of like 15 kids that are booing him.”

Arch, who stunned fans four years ago by committing to Texas over more traditional SEC schools, likely wasn’t fazed by the boos.

In an interview with Arch in 2025, Complex’s Brighid Tully asked Manning what he would say to people that call him a nepo baby.

“I mean, they have the right to say that,” Manning said. “When people say stuff, like they have freedom of speech, I’ve probably said bad things about other people. It’s kind of the business I’m in. Obviously I do think that I worked hard for the position I’m in, but people are allowed to say that.”