The Manning name goes a long way — even for college football bettors. Top-ranked Texas is favored to win the national championship, which would be its first since Vince Young dashed into the Rose Bowl end zone two decades ago to upset Southern California.

With pressure and expectations growing around the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning as he looks to lead the No. 1 Texas Longhorns to the program's first title since the 2005 season, his grandfather and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning attempted to take some of the pressure off of his grandson recently.

Texas tops the preseason Top 25 with Arch Manning, but Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State are close, putting pressure on the Longhorns to prove they belong.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cooper Manning Thought Arch’s Best Fit for College Might Have Been an ACC School. In less that two weeks, Arch Manning is set to make his debut as starting quarterback of the Texas Longhorns.

Alabama didn’t hold back in its attempt to land Arch Manning. Then-Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Pete Golding referenced Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s battles with alcoholism in an attempt to send the prodigy to Tuscaloosa over Austin, as detailed in the upcoming book, “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback” by Seth Wickersham.