In Week 1, TCU’s Josh Hoover outperformed every Texas QB, even Manning | Opinion
Josh Hoover may have to win the Heisman, O’Brien and Grammy awards in the same month to be mentioned above the quarterback at the University of Texas.
We live in a world obsessed, and driven, by names. Kardashian. Tiger. Swift. Beyonce. McConaughey. Manning — a name that is known all over the United States, and probably parts of Eastern Europe, immediately associated as the best quarterback.
Hoover is a home appliance.
In the first full weekend of college football, the vacuum cleaner outperformed the most celebrated last name in quarterback history, as well as any other QB in the state of Texas.
In TCU’s blowout win against Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night, Josh Hoover was worth the money; the quarterback that every team covets. Watching him dice up Carolina, you could see why Tennessee reportedly offered him a lot to transfer to Knoxville in the offseason.
With Marcel Reed at Texas A&M, Kevin Jennings at SMU, Sawyer Robertson at Baylor, Manning at UT and Hoover at TCU, the state of Texas is loaded with talented passers. Hoover outplayed all of them.
By now, Arch Manning’s performance as Texas’ QB1 in the Longhorns’ loss at Ohio State has been examined, discussed and is currently at CIA headquarters for extensive study. How could so many experts be so wrong?
No way around it, he had a terrible game.
Arch Manning will figure it out
A long-term bet against a quarterback named Manning is the equivalent of setting fire to a stack of $100s. Betting on a young man who has barely played to thrive against a team like Ohio State in Columbus is dangerous, too.
Arch will figure it out. It was not his fault us media scum anointed him Peyton Archie Eli Manning. When you have that last name, and you’re a quarterback, it comes with expectations, not to mention lucrative endorsement opportunities.
In the meantime, always go with the guy with talent, who has fallen and demonstrated he can get back up, more than the name.
Hoover is in his fourth season of college ball, and the way he played on Monday night, he looked and acted like the adult in the room. He wasn’t playing Ohio State at The Shoe, but he was facing a head coach who built a reputation of designing defenses that made a quarterback’s life hell.
“Obviously he’s been a great NFL coach and props to him,” Hoover said after the game, “but I’m here playing football, doing my job playing against North Carolina. I never really cared who the head coach was; didn’t have much impact on what I do.”
Monday night may have been the exception to that rule.
Whether it was his time as Bill Parcells’ defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, as the head coach with the Cleveland Browns, and throughout his long run with the New England Patriots, few coaches in the history of the game have schemed a defense better to stop a passer than Belichick.
Belichick knew how to get under Peyton Manning’s skin like no one else.
Hoover handled what Bill Belichick threw at him
In the first half Monday night, North Carolina threw multiple coverages and defensive fronts to derail Hoover. In fairness to Belichick, he doesn’t have the players yet to do what he wants, but Hoover may have made that point moot, too.
Hoover completed 27 of 36 passes for 284 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The pick came in the first half deep in Carolina territory where the throw was a little off, and the Tar Heels’ defender made a great play.
His first touchdown pass, a 27-yard throw into the end zone for receiver Jordan Dwyer in the first quarter, would have been a score against perfect coverage.
There were other plays where a defender forced Hoover to change his mind, or alter his preferred pattern; those were the instances when he demonstrated the difference between himself and the other names.
Without having to run around, he subtly moved his feet a few times to buy time and space to complete the type of passes that win games. Not some “just get rid of it” dump-off for 1.9 yards, but throws down the field to extend drives, and demoralize a defense.
The types of plays that come from a talented quarterback playing his 24th career college game.
The overall performance was particularly impressive considering TCU lost wide receivers Jack Bech and Savion Williams to the NFL draft.
TCU has invested heavily in terms of games played, and now cash, to enjoy the best year, or years, of a top quarterback.
Against North Carolina, Josh Hoover looked the part, and for the first weekend he’s the best QB in Texas, even if he doesn’t have the name.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM.
