Finish the book before you judge Arch Manning. We’re only a few pages in, but Steve Sarkisian’s words after last weekend’s “one chapter” was a less-than-inspiring outing at Ohio State reverberated a bit in Saturday’s home opener against San Jose State.
Manning rallied in his second start of the 2025 season, showing more conviction from the pocket and confidence buying time with his legs — many of his best throws coming during a four-touchdown flurry in the first half of a lopsided 38-7 win.
Delivering several early haymakers against inferior competition won’t quiet doubters, but it was a get-right opportunity that Manning and the Longhorns — for the most part — executed with passing grades in a much-needed rebound for the Texas offense after its lackluster debut.
It wasn’t an exemplary showing from Manning after a red zone interception and a strip-sack fumble nearly cost his team a touchdown, but 318 yards of total offense and five total scores is a step in the right direction for a player and team whose season-long goals are still ahead of them.
Most importantly, it was four more quarters of reps for a quarterback making only his fourth career start.
The No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting cycle and preseason Heisman frontrunner looked ordinary against elite, comparable talent last week, which explained the book analogy Sarkisian made. He was simply trying to ensure his quarterback’s confidence wasn’t shaken after his debut.
At times against San Jose State, Manning appeared gun shy in a couple of spots, failing to trust his receivers at the second level in favor of a check down attempt or dump in the flats.
However, there’s no substitute for experience, and the highs were impressive from the redshirt sophomore, especially his final possession midway through the fourth quarter that included a couple first-down completions to tight ends after moving out of the pocket with his feet.
“He’s had spectacular moments today, there’s been some choppy plays and there’s been some bad moments. You want him to make the easy plays and get experience and reps with him,” Joe Tessitore said during the broadcast.
Early hiccups before floodgates
The hangover effect, at least early, was real for Manning and the Longhorns. His first pass attempt since the humiliating effort in Columbus was a deep heave down the seam to Ryan Wingo that sailed 5 yards past his intended target and nearly resulted in an interception.
Backed up by a previous penalty, Manning was pressured on third-and-long on his next throw and sidearmed a toss near the sticks that was too far inside of his intended target.
Manning’s first completion was a chain-mover on a comeback route to Wingo on the Longhorns’ second possession before CJ Baxter lost 4 yards on a screen pass on the ensuing snap. After Manning scooted a few yards yards on a keeper to bring up a third-and-6, Manning hit Wingo across the middle for a first down but the pass was dropped.
Two possessions, two punts. Crowd groans.
Then, the fireworks finally started offensively for the Longhorns. Sarkisian dialed up an explosive play on his team’s third possession and Manning connected, this time hooking up with Parker Livingstone for a 83-yard touchdown on a wheel route.
Livingstone caught the pass at the Texas 40 and raced the final 60 yards untouched after making a move near midfield.
Texas got the ball right back after an interception and Manning cashed in a few plays later with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Livingstone on a slant in the end zone.
After recovering a fumble on San Jose State’s next drive, the Longhorns scored in one play after Manning waited for tight end Jack Endries to come open and look for the football on a well-thrown strike down the seam. That was the first of two scores in the second quarter for Endries and arguably Manning’s best throw of the contest.
Lighten up, Arch
During the broadcast, there was a pregame clip of Texas running back CJ Baxter grabbing Manning’s shoulders before the game in a joking manner and jostling him to try and keep the quarterback relaxed.
It took the Longhorns and their star quarterback a couple possessions to find their mojo, but when they did, Texas was efficient in the passing game with several chunk-play completions from Manning to various targets.
Manning’s lone mistake in the first half came late in the second quarter when he forced one into coverage in the end zone and was picked off. The Longhorns had a breakdown in protection, and Sarkisian said at halftime his young signal caller should “know when to eat it” and live to see another play.
The Longhorns would much rather see Manning force one into coverage inside the 20-yard line against a 36.5-point underdog than, say, Georgia later this season. The error marked a teachable moment during an otherwise productive performance that Manning should be able be able to build on moving forward.
Without the pressure of playing a fellow national title contender, the Longhorns offense generated enough explosive plays to win going away despite Manning not always being mechanically sound.
After Texas returned to practice following the Ohio State loss, Manning said he had moved on and was ready to get back on the field to fix correctable mistakes.
“I’m determined,” Manning said ahead of the Longhorns’ home opener. “I think this is going to motivate me to play better, and that’s what we need to win. I’ve got to play better, got to lead more, got to get our guys to play well around me, and ultimately I wasn’t good enough.”
After upcoming games against UTEP and Sam Houston, another barometer start for Manning comes at Florida in a couple of weeks.
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