The Biggest Flop in the College Football Season Isn’t Arch Manning: Some Thoughts

So, it would be easy to say that the biggest flop in the current college football season (thus far) is Arch Manning. I get it. He hasn’t lived up to the hype. Not even close. But, I was struck by the piece written by Will Leitch in The Athletic today that suggested that Manning (with all his abundant ads in full view) only seems like a flop. In reality, he is a 21 year old kid who has started started a handful of games (most badly too). The point: give him a longer runway. And, part of the problem Leitch asserts is that we all like flop stories and remember them and recite them with a certain kind of glee. Yup. As I see it, we like flops because it enables “better them than me” thinking … as in “At least I’m not as bad as Arch at what I do…”

Now, I actually can see a real flop in college football in the here and now: Bill Belichick. True, he’s only coached a handful of games in his role within a college. But, oh my. He and his team are a disaster and he is being paid a fortune. Reports are now rampant that inside the locker room, there are plentiful squabbles and divides. And, parents and players are dissatisfied, with some feeling that some families/players get preferential treatment. And the on-field performance: horrific. BB doesn’t get excused because he is “new.” We’re talking about a seasoned coach here, with plentiful Superbowl rings. And, a good coach shouldn’t lose his team or his poise or his talent when he moves from the NFL to college. Yea, it might be different but a coach is a coach is a coach.

Missing Focus is My Focus

Here’s a thought:

Arch Manning hasn’t lost his focus and passion for football, or so it seems. (Yes, too many ads.). He just isn’t good … yet. And he grew up literally in football, and it is in his blood and his being. Let him be coached; let him use his two remaining years of eligibility. Let him grow up and grow into himself. He isn’t Heisman or draft quality … yet. Hint: stop all the ads and the money stream and pay attention to the game you are paid to play.

Here’s another thought:

BB has lost focus. Whether it is his granddaughter-aged lover JH or simply his age, he isn’t so keen it appears on dedicating his time and energy to college football. Look at him. In a bye week, he trotted off to Nantucket with JH … to escape? to rejuvenate? to forget? to get an early season break? Please. The BB who actually won worked long and hard ALL THE TIME (or so it seemed). And he didn’t do photo shoots on a beach with his lover on his feet, a version of which was put on display in jest by a winning team mocking this hoisted position.

So, we do have a flop in college football right now. It’s BB not Arch. Let’s put the flop focus on where it belongs. And, I wouldn’t be shocked if North Carolina and BB work on a separation agreement … soon. Unlike Arch, BB doesn’t deserve a long runway as he embarrasses his team, the university where he works and himself.

Time has a way of telling in these matters.