In his first year at LSU in the 2018 season, current Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow managed to throw for 300+ passing yards in only two regular-season games, finishing the season with 2,894 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns, and a below-par 57.8% pass completion rate. In other words, he was bang average. The offseason after, he decided to lock in, and the result was a tremendous Heisman-winning season to win the 2019 NCAA Championship.

Since that win, Joe Burrow has not looked back. Now, one of the most hyped 2027 draft prospects, Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning’s story, is being compared to Burrow by the co-hosts of the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast.

“A lot of people talk about Joe Burrow’s run in 2019, sure, but they talk about the year prior there was a moment that created Joe Burrow…” noted co-host Sherman Young. “There was a similar moment when Texas played Michigan,” Sherman further added. “Arch Manning (was) on the sideline, and he mouthed, ‘I’m just going to stop giving a f***,’ and then he went off on Michigan after… People are saying that Arch might have that Joey B mentality this year.”

Arch Manning’s start to the 2025 season wasn’t noteworthy, similar to Burrow’s 2018 campaign. He suffered a 14-7 loss at Ohio State in the opener, with his stat line reading 17-of-30 for only 170 yards. Then, against the Florida Gators, he threw two interceptions in a 21-29 defeat.

However, he recorded 300+ passing yards in three of his last five regular-season games. Then came the 2025 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines.

The Longhorns were down 24-27 in the 4th quarter with around 11 minutes on the clock when the camera panned to a battered Arch Manning shutting off everything else around him.

Facing a 4th and two, Manning scrambled for 15 yards to secure a 1st down. He then threw a 30-yard TD pass to WR Kaliq Lockett before faking a handoff on the next drive and running clear of Michigan’s defense to score a 60-yard TD, effectively winning the game for Texas. He deservedly won the Citrus Bowl MVP for the 42-27 win.

Arch Manning has no shortage of names that he’s touted in the media to live up to. And now Joe Burrow, the QB with the highest career pass completion rate in NFL history, is one of them. But what exact moment did Burrow’s collegiate career take an upward turn?

The moment Joe became ‘Joe Burrow’

In the 2019 Fiesta Bowl matchup between LSU and UCF, Burrow threw an interception with the score at 7-3 to UCF. The interception resulted in a 93-yard six-pick return. But what happened off-the-ball would change the course of the game.

UCF’s DT Joey Connors delivered a borderline legal blindside block to Burrow that sent the QB sprawling on the field. UCF’s Nate Evans picked up a taunting warning for further antagonizing the defenseless Burrow, who got a cut on his neck.

Evans would go on to regret it as the LSU #9 went on to pull off a 40-32 comeback to end UCF’s 25-game unbeaten streak.

”I didn’t really think about the hit too much after it happened,” Burrow said after the game. ”It hurt for a second, I got right up and went on to the next play.”

Joe’s stat line at the end of the game read: 21-of-34 for 394 yards, four TDs that included a spectacular 22-yard passing TD to sophomore WR Justin Jefferson.

What followed that incident was a 15-0 unbeaten run to win the title the next season, which included only 2 occasions where he scored less than 300 passing yards. He threw for 5,671 yards, 60 TDs, for a 76.3% pass completion rate that season, earning the No. 1 Draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Arch Manning will be looking to tap into that Burrow mentality and pull off his 2019-LSU equivalent with Texas in 2026 in an effort to be picked 1st overall in next year’s draft.