Texas quarterback Arch Manning
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Texas QB Arch Manning had a forgettable 2025 debut, thanks largely to former Patriots coordinator Matt Patricia.
The way the Ohio State defense dominated Arch Manning and the Texas offense should have looked familiar to New England Patriots fans. It sure looked familiar to a former Pats great.
The Buckeyes stifled Manning in the season opener for both teams, holding on for a 14-7 win, and former Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, loved what he saw from Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who obviously held the same title once upon a time in Foxboro, Mass.
“And Looks like Matty P using a similar game plan against (Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian) just like 2016 Super Bowl and 2017 against the (Atlanta Falcons),” Van Noy said in a tweet during the game.
Asked to expand on the idea, Van Noy offered even more insight into how Patricia was confusing Manning (and Sarkisian) with his looks.
“He’s using a lot of the same fronts against Texas like the patriots did. Diamond front where he walks an off the ball linebacker to the line and bumps the D end to a 3 technique. Build a wall and the z lone backer free to the ball. Nose is playing well,” Van Noy added.
Manning, the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft (assuming he declares), went just 17-for-30 for 170 yards with one touchdown and an interception in his season debut. Certainly, there’s room for improvement, but in Manning’s defense, he’s not going to face a defense as talented and well-coached for the rest of the season.
On the latter part, Patricia certainly aced his first test as OSU DC. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day hired Patricia in February. Most assumed Patricia would follow Bill Belichick, and that might have been the case had the legendary head coach gotten another NFL job. Instead, he landed with the University of North Carolina, and Patricia went back to college, too, in Columbus.
Patricia’s reputation took a hit at the end of his Patriots tenure, largely for a failed run as de facto offensive coordinator in Mac Jones’ second season. However, as Van Noy notes, Patricia had plenty of success as the Patriots’ defensive play-caller from 2012 to 2017. The ’17 Patriots played the Atlanta Falcons, whose coordinator at the time was Sarkisian. The Patriots cruised to a 23-7 win.
Even with Patricia’s past defensive prowess, his hiring at Ohio State wasn’t without some criticism. Like, for example, the headline at Off Tackle Empire that read: “Matt Patricia is a Catastrophic Hire for the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
The lede wasn’t any friendlier: “Ohio State and Ryan Day hiring Matt Patricia is a terrible, baffling, and idiotic decision. It will not end well.”
There’s still technically plenty of time for that to be true, but the start could not have gone any better. Patricia, who became an easy target at the end of his Patriots run, had plenty of love for his first game with the Buckeyes.
I could not be more impressed with Matt Patricia. To have this Ohio State defense playing this well week 1 within his scheme is simply phenomenal. The scary part is they are only going to get better. We'll done Patricia.
— JBook. (@JBook_37) August 30, 2025
What Matt Patricia doing with that secondary is legendary. Have them all playing back and straight across, so Arch doesn’t know what coverage they’re in. Caleb Downs just lurking. This defense is SCARY!
— Tyvis Powell (@1Tyvis) August 30, 2025
Arvell Reese. C.J. Hicks. Sonny Styles. Caleb Downs. Davison Igbinosun.
Matt Patricia's unit just put on a MASTER CLASS. Buckeyes deserve to be #1 on Monday. What a gutsy defensive performance.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) August 30, 2025
Whether Patricia can dominate all year long like this remains to be seen, but as one user pointed out on X, this should inspire plenty of optimism about what Belichick could do in the college game with the Tar Heels.
“If Matt Patricia has Arch Manning in hell what do we think Bill Belichick will do to the poor kid at TCU?” Boorish Sports wrote on X.