The narrative around Arch Manning at Texas would probably be a tad easier to deal with if head coach Steve Sarkisian would stop adding unnecessary fuel to the fire.
We all understand whether the Longhorns quarterback receives a lot more attention than others across the country based off his last name alone, that’s a given.
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But, at some point folks have got to start putting realistic expectations on the guy who is leading the Texas offense.
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Right now, Arch Manning is a good college quarterback, and at times he plays like an average passer who has cost his team at least one game this season.
Throw in the fact that he’s the face of Texas football right now, and obviously there could be moments that the latest Manning quarterback is feeling the pressure.
My goodness though, his head coach is not doing him any favors from a public perception standpoint.
Texas QB Arch Manning talks about the Longhorns win over Tennessee (Via: Trey Wallace. OutKick)
If this was ‘Joe Smith’, the Texas football team might be playing a different QB
On Monday, Steve Sarkisian was asked by a reporter that if you took the name ‘Manning’ off the back of his jersey, would there not be all of the ‘incredible’ expectations on the quarterback.
After starting his answer with the cliché talk of this being a team game, which it is, and the scheme of running the Texas offense, Sarkisian delivered this gem of an answer.
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“I think if you took the name off the back of his jersey and you said ‘here’s Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas and here’s a guy that’s beaten four top-10 ranked teams in his last thirteen starts’ we’d be praising the guy,” Sarkisian noted.
“The expectations are high for him, but he understands that. The expectations are high for all of us. So, we gotta put our nose back to the grind and get back to work.”
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Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks with Arch Manning #16 during the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 12, 2026. (Getty Images)
For the love of all that’s good, save us with this nonsense. If Manning was actually named ‘Joe Smith’, Steve Sarkisian would have already given the backup quarterbacks at least a shot at overtaking Arch Manning as the starter.
The reality is that Arch has been very inconsistent at Texas, and that’s ok. He’s not going to wow the audience every week, which is something everyone in college football should recognize by now.
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Also, the Longhorns should feel lucky that they don’t have three losses on the season already, given that fourth-quarter performance by Ohio State and Tennessee’s lack of offensive firepower outside of its rushing attack.
Arch is getting no favors from Sarkisian, but the quarterback is not a first-rounder.
We have now reached the point of trying to make sense of Arch Manning being an average college football quarterback by using his popularity as a reason for why he takes so much heat when things go wrong.
It should just come down to the fact that if this were any other school or situation, Arch Manning is receiving the same type of critique as Josh Hoover at Indiana or Dante Moore at Oregon.
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Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Trent Wilson (90) tackles Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the first half at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Oct. 10, 2026. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
But, since Steve Sarkisian wants to continue giving these types of answers regarding his quarterback, the outcry will only continue to increase if Manning keeps playing like this.
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No, he doesn’t look like a top-10 NFL Draft pick, or even the top quarterback in this potential class.
But sure, let’s act as though Manning wouldn’t be receiving this type of criticism if he had a different last name.
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There is a reality that if Arch did not have the last name, we might not be talking about him at all in relation with Texas.
We could be discussing the starting quarterback for a Group of Six college football team.
At some point, Sarkisian has to realize he’s not doing his quarterback any favors with these answers.