There was a time in the SEC when everything revolved around Nick Saban and his Alabama football team.

Not anymore.

There’s a new puppetmaster in the Southeastern Conference, and it’s not commissioner Greg Sankey or reigning conference champion coach Kirby Smart.

Kalen DeBoer? Not a chance.

Those guys have plenty of power, and their sphere of influence is strong, but they don’t have the gravity of 21-year-old Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

These days in the SEC, everything is orbiting around the latest son of football’s first family.

Is Manning overrated, or will he be as good as uncles Peyton and Eli Manning? Will Arch come anywhere close to matching the game of his namesake, Ole Miss’ Archie Manning. That’s the topic of a different column.

Someone who knows a couple things about being a quarterback is already convinced that Manning is all hype.

But let’s put ability aside for a moment.

Here’s an undeniable fact. When it comes to starpower, Arch Manning might be the most influential figure in college football ahead of the 2025 season.

Have we seen a quarterback in the SEC with Manning’s level of buzz since Florida’s Tim Tebow?

Imagine the type of network ratings Tebow would have pulled if he could have played in a 16-team playoff.

This being conspiracy theory season in the SEC, there’s a new SEC X-file involving Texas’ starting quarterback. Did Manning’s television potential influence the SEC in giving the Longhorns the easiest schedule in the league?

The SEC X-file: ESPN wants Manning in the College Football Playoff, and the WorldWide Leader has been pulling strings behind the scenes to give Texas the easiest path to the postseason.

Did corporate influence at the league and network levels factor into a conference schedule that avoids Alabama and LSU? There’s no denying that Texas’ conference schedule is laughably easy.

But it’s almost embarrassing.

And Sankey should be ashamed.

The Longhorns’ toughest conference opponent is Georgia. That matchup is on Nov.15 at Sanford Stadium. Leading up to the big game? Texas’ kingly road to Athens is practically covered in rose petals: at Kentucky, at Mississippi State, at home against Vanderbilt … AND THEN an off week before the trip to Georgia.

Let’s just put this out in the world before SEC Media Days. Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia swaggers into DKR on Nov.1 for a sleepy 11 a.m. kickoff. If Pavia rocks Texas, then he’s an instant College Football Hall of Famer.

Texas’ conference schedule is so easy that Vanderbilt is potentially the third toughest opponent.

Here’s the Longhorns’ full SEC slate: at Florida, vs. Oklahoma, at Kentucky, at Mississippi State, vs. Vanderbilt, OFF, at Georgia, vs. Arkansas and vs. Texas A&M.

That’s weaker than Texas’ power grid.

It’s almost like Sankey and ESPN did everything within their collective powers to put Manning into the playoffs.

And maybe Manning is going to need all the help he can get. What if he’s not that great?

We already know what one SEC legend thinks about Texas’ untested superstar.

Former Florida coach and Heisman winner Steve Spurrier is openly questioning Manning’s ability going into the 2025 season. Spurrier raised the question on a recent podcast with Gainesville-based columnist Pat Dooley.

If Manning is so good, Spurrier said, then why didn’t he start over Ewers last season? After all, Ewers was drafted in the seventh round.

Spurrier is setting the stage for the Gators’ conference home opener, of course. Texas goes to The Swamp on Oct.4. The Gators think they have a generational talent in sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. Lagway can prove it early, too. Florida is at LSU and then Miami in Weeks 3 and 4.

Is Manning the league’s next Tebow-level phenomenon or is he a media creation without substance?

Tebow was dubbed “The Chosen One” in an ESPN doc before setting foot on campus, but Sir Timmy backed up the buzz and then some. As a freshman, Teebs helped starting quarterback Chris Leak win a natty in 2006. In 2007, Tebow was the Heisman in his first season as a starter. In 2008, Tebow won the national championship and should have won the Heisman again (it went to OU’s Sam Bradford). In 2009, Alabama and Saban spoiled the Gators’ all-time season.

Manning’s economic potential aligned him with Texas and then the SEC and ESPN have done the rest to elevate college football’s new golden boy.

Texas opens up the season with Ohio State. The Longhorns can lose to the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs and still make the playoffs.

But what if the Longhorns slip up and lose at Florida?

Even with three losses, Sankey will make a strong case for the Longhorns to make the CFP.

Rival Oklahoma should be furious. Look at OU’s schedule by comparison: vs. Auburn, vs. Texas, at South Carolina, vs. Ole Miss, at Tennessee, OFF, at Alabama, vs. Missouri and LSU at home.

Absolutely brutal.

Texas was given its two-year cupcake conference schedule before last season. No Alabama. No Tennessee. No Ole Miss. No LSU. No problem, Arch.

Manning was the backup to quarterback Quinn Ewers in 2024 and the Longhorns coasted into the College Football Playoff despite losing to Georgia in the conference championship game. Was Amarillo Slim on the College Football Playoff committee? Talk about being rigged.

Texas then landed on the easiest CFP path of all. It was Clemson at Texas in the first round and then the Longhorns matched up with Arizona State in the quarterfinals. Texas needed double overtime to get past ASU before being demolished by Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

If ESPN wanted Manning on television as long as possible, then the network certainly got its wish.

Manning and Texas open the 2025 season against Ohio State and that game will be a television ratings bonanza. After that, no one in the SEC has an easier schedule than Texas.

It’s almost like it was by design.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”