Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning lives college football’s idiocracy | Opinion
As the son of football royalty who has benefited from his last name in ways that he can’t fully appreciate, sympathy for Arch Manning should be measured in tablespoons.
He is fine. Forever.
He has no control over the machine that made him the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback before he was the starter at Texas, but he was wise enough to cash in before he fell not back to earth, but to its center. No football family has monetized their name and fame better than the Mannings.
You will notice that no one in that celebrated crew complained then, or now, about the machine that built him up over the course of 18 months, only to tear him down in 18 minutes. No football family has played the football machine better than the Mannings.
Disregard all of the narratives, criticisms and headlines that have surrounded Arch since Week 1 of this regular season, and know that while the back of his jersey is covered in grass and mud, he will get up.
Buy Arch Manning stock. All of it. His stock says he will be fine on the field, too.
Arch Manning in 2024 and Arch Manning in 2025
It was this time one year ago when Manning was sent back to the bench after turning in three solid performances in relief of UT starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was injured in a game Sept. 14 against UT-San Antonio.
Because our memories are selectively awful, this is what Manning did in those games:
- 9/14/24: 9-of-12 passing, 223 yards, 4 TDs, 0 int.; 3 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD in a 56-7 win over UTSA.
- 9/21/24: 15-of-29 passing, 258 yards, 2 TD, 2 int. in a 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
- 9/28/24: 26-of-31 passing, 325 yards, 2 TD, 0 int., 6 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD in a 35-13 win over Mississippi State.
After the win against Mississippi State, Ewers came back from injury to lead UT in a win over Oklahoma. He remained the starter for the rest of the year.
One year later, Ewers is on the bench as QB3 for the Miami Dolphins, and Manning is QB1 for the Texas-OU game Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.
Oklahoma is undefeated and ranked sixth in the nation. Texas, the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, is 3-2, out of the top 25 ... and the betting favorite to win Saturday.
The No. 1 reason why Texas is no longer No. 1 is their “bum QB.”
Why betting against Arch is a dumb decision
One of the popular narratives about Arch this season is the competition he faced as a high school player at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans set him up to fail in big-time college football. Isidore Newman is a well-to-do private school that plays private school opponents, not Class 6A giants.
Notable alums of Isidore Newman include Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, both of whom went on to have moderately successful careers at different SEC schools before they were both the No. 1 overall picks in the NFL draft, and won four Super Bowls combined.
“It goes without saying, Captain Obvious here, he’s one of the most talented players in all of college football, and he’s the No. 1 quarterback in the country for a reason,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Wednesday on the SEC coaches’ conference call with the media.
Arch is not the No. 1 quarterback in Texas, much less the country.
He has not played well. He may have been hurt earlier in the season, a point that UT coach Steve Sarkisian won’t admit. Arch has been guilty of holding the ball a bit too long. Sometimes his mechanics have been atrocious, which is the most confusing development of them all.
Even if his last name is Manning, he’s still a first-year starting quarterback in college with seven career starts. His uncles got sacked, picked off, hit in the mouth, too; both of them got up to ultimately win. They all have to go through something.
When it comes to development, no one at UT right now is on an acceptable pace.
Texas had 12 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft, the most of any college program behind Ohio State and Georgia.
Receivers Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond and running back Jaydon Blue went to the NFL, and the replacements have not been their equal. UT lost four of its starting five offensive linemen to the NFL, as well as its tight end. The new guys have not been good, and too often Arch has no time to breathe.
His performance, and one throw in particular, on Oct. 4 at Florida is the most encouraging data point he’s offered this season, and UT still lost to a team that is a mess.
“The frustrating part for him, and ourselves, early in the season [is] when he wasn’t quite as accurate,” Sarkisian said on Wednesday on that SEC call. “But I think he’s starting to come into his own now, and he’s starting to grow and improve and play more true to himself, which is a great sign for us.”
Sark has no choice but to sell this, and trust that it will all work.
The expectations are not of Arch’s making, which is no fault of his own and something he had no problem cashing in on. You’ll notice he’s not complaining about either.
Because he’s a Manning.
And you don’t sell Manning stock. You buy Manning stock, especially if it’s low.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM.
