Prior to the start of the 2025 college football season, Arch Manning and Texas were the darlings of the sportsbooks. Manning was the odds-on favorite to take home this year’s Heisman trophy, while the Longhorns were equally favored to collect the national championship.
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Here we are just a month and some change later, however, and neither one of them is even remotely valued at where they used to be. In fact, it’s been Carson Beck and the Miami Hurricanes who have proven to be the true favorites so far.
Following his departure from Georgia and the way in which it was handled, many had given up on Beck. Nevertheless, his resurgence in the ACC has him currently listed as the second biggest Heisman favorite, slotting just behind Oregon’s Dante Moore.
Beck is currently sporting the third-best completion percentage and fourth-highest touchdown total in the conference, and his passer rating is the 11th best in the nation among signal callers with 130+ pass attempts. Suffice to say, not only is he beginning to take Manning’s place as the title favorite, but he’s also beginning to rival him in terms of NIL dealings as well.
According to On3, Beck is now the second-wealthiest player in all of college athletics. Manning is still in control of the number one spot with a grand total of $5 million in NIL valuations, but Beck is right behind him with a personal total of $4.9 million.
Throughout the first five weeks, Beck has outdone Manning in terms of passing attempts, completions, and yards. His QBR of 84.4 is notably better than Manning’s score of 59.9, and the same is true when it comes to passer ratings as well.
Thanks to a career year from Beck, the Hurricanes are currently holding the second overall spot in the national rankings, while Manning and the rest of his herd are now simply content with proving that they have something to build upon for next season. The latest member of football’s royal family ranks just 46th overall in passer rating, and his 1,151 passing yards are only good for the 66th highest total in the nation.
Simply put, where Miami has been a pleasant surprise, the Longhorns have been nothing more than the latest example of false advertising. Given the sheer amount of money that’s become involved in college football throughout the last several years, it certainly seems safe to say that Texas donors are experiencing a bit of remorse right now.
Thankfully, there’s always next year, but when it comes to Beck and Miami, this season seems as good as any to commit to winning a national championship. The roles of these two programs have completely flipped within the span of a month, and now, it’s time to start giving the ACC the due recognition that it deserves.
