- Julian Sayin picked up where he left off: The Ohio State quarterback earned a 93.1 PFF passing grade from a clean pocket and averaged 12.8 yards per attempt against Ball State.
- Arch Manning opened 2026 with improved efficiency: Manning earned a 90.7 PFF passing grade and produced three big-time throws against one turnover-worthy play in Texas’ win.
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Two quarterbacks at the center of the College Football Playoff conversation spent Week 1 doing exactly what they were supposed to do.
Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Texas’ Arch Manning combined to complete 41 of 52 passes for 625 yards and seven touchdowns in blowout wins over Ball State and Texas State, respectively.
And PFF Premium Stats Pro shows the performances were more than box-score padding: Sayin’s 93.1 PFF overall grade ranked third among the 110 FBS quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks in Week 1, while Manning’s 89.1 mark ranked 11th.
The two college football superstars meet in Austin on Sept. 12.
Highest graded CFB quarterbacks: Week 1
Julian Sayin picked up where he left off
Sayin led all FBS quarterbacks in overall grade (92.9), passing grade (92.5) and adjusted completion percentage (82.5%) last season. And he picked up where he left off in Ohio State’s 56-3 win over Ball State in Week 1.
The Ohio State quarterback completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Sayin recorded one big-time throw without putting a single turnover-worthy play on tape.
Ohio State also pushed the ball further downfield with Sayin in the opener. His 13.1-yard average depth of target was up from 8.7 yards in 2025, and he averaged 12.8 yards per attempt, the seventh-best mark among FBS quarterbacks in Week 1. His 88.0% adjusted completion percentage ranked ninth, while he generated 0.83 EPA per play.
Sayin was at his best from a clean pocket. He earned a 93.1 PFF passing grade across 24 clean dropbacks, the best mark in the country in Week 1, completing 19 of 23 passes for 292 yards and all three touchdowns.
Arch Manning was sharp in his opener
Manning entered 2026 with more room for improvement. He recorded 19 big-time throws against 17 turnover-worthy plays last season, a 1.12 ratio that ranked 56th among the 99 FBS quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks. His 60.8% completion rate ranked 72nd in that group, his 73.0% adjusted completion percentage ranked 52nd and his 81.0 PFF passing grade ranked 20th.
His Week 1 performance offered an encouraging start. Manning completed 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in Texas’ 59-7 win, earning a 90.7 PFF passing grade that ranked sixth among FBS quarterbacks. His 85.2% adjusted completion percentage was 12.2 percentage points above his 2025 mark.
Manning also generated 0.87 EPA per play, the fifth-best mark in the country in Week 1. He recorded three big-time throws against one turnover-worthy play, while his 11.1% big-time throw rate ranked fourth among FBS quarterbacks.
Some of his best work came when the pocket broke down. Manning completed all three of his attempts under pressure for 57 yards and a touchdown, recording one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays on four pressured dropbacks. He earned an 81.6 PFF passing grade on those plays while holding the ball for an average of 4.43 seconds, and Texas generated 0.99 EPA per play in those situations.
The Week 2 showdown
Both performances came against overmatched opponents, and neither quarterback faced much pressure. Sayin was pressured on just 14.3% of his dropbacks, while Manning faced pressure on 13.3%.
There was one notable result in Sayin’s limited sample. Two of his four pressured dropbacks ended in sacks, producing a 50.0% pressure-to-sack rate after he posted a 16.1% mark across the 2025 season.
The sample gets more meaningful Saturday, when Ohio State travels to Texas for a Sept. 12 prime-time matchup. Sayin enters the game with a full season of high-end accuracy and efficiency behind him, while Manning’s opener provided an encouraging first data point after his turnover-worthy play issues in 2025.
So, Week 2 will provide the first real test of whether those Week 1 performances carry over against a different level of competition.
