Arch Manning’s struggles are under the spotlight, but Texas football’s bigger failures — shaky offensive line and lackluster supporting cast — tell the real story

Texas’ slim hopes of a comeback in the Swamp ended in familiar fashion for Arch Manning — with pressure in his face.

Both Longhorn offensive tackles got beat off the edge, forcing Manning to step into the pocket and wait for long-developing routes to come open. He never got that chance as one of Florida’s spying defenders, edge George Gumbs, crashed into a gap and got the sack.

That sack — Florida’s fifth on a day it posted an absurd 58% pressure rate — secured a 29-21 win for the previously floundering Gators. It also cemented what’s now glaringly obvious about the 2025 Longhorns: No, Manning is not living up to the universally inflated hype. But Texas, by the same token, is not living up to its promise of surrounding Manning with a championship-worthy roster.

Arch Manning’s struggles

Manning is the easy scapegoat for Texas’ struggles.

He is, after all, the most famous name in the sport. It seems we all love nothing more than to build someone up only to tear them down. And there’s plenty you can criticize of the third-year passer.

Manning holds the ball too long. It was a quiet criticism of him a season ago. Texas legend Colt McCoy even told CBS Sports this August: “I think for a young guy, he’s always wanting to make the big play.” It shows.

Manning’s time to throw was 3.5 seconds on Saturday. That’s a LONG time, especially when your offensive line is struggling. Some of that is because Texas was working from behind and had to push the ball downfield. But if you’re trying to protect a struggling o-line, the best way to do so is get the ball out quickly.

It’s not like that’s a new issue, either. Manning’s average time to throw this year is the third-slowest rate of any FBS quarterback who’s taken 50% of his team’s snaps.

Even given that obvious concern for Manning, you must wonder about the play-calling. Manning’s average depth of target this season is 12 yards. That’s the second-highest rate in the Power Four. If you can’t run the ball consistently (more on that in a minute) and can’t protect the passer, why continue to push the ball downfield with such regularity? Help out your quarterback with some easy, in-rhythm throws. Texas is doing the opposite; Manning has the fewest throws of 1-9 yards of any qualifying Power Four quarterback in the country this season. 

🏈 Taking stock of Arch

Play-calling can’t fix missed passes, however, and Manning’s struggled to place the ball accurately. His 68.5% adjusted completion percentage ranks 89th of 100 qualifying quarterbacks in the FBS. Some of that is due to the depth of the throws (longer passes are harder to complete) but Manning’s also just missed open receivers.

It’s where his first interception of the day in the fourth quarter came from. He sailed the ball a bit on Emmett Mosley running a dig route, turning a potential first down into a turnover with Texas driving in Florida territory down 15. His other pick, which came some five minutes later, was a similar thing. Manning had D’Andre Moore streaking on a slot fade down the right sideline. Manning slightly under-threw a potential touchdown, allowing cornerback Devin Moore to recover and make a spectacular leaping interception. It’s a really hard throw. But it’s the type of pass Manning, a former No. 1 overall recruit, should be able to execute. 

A propensity for aggressive throws and way too many misses means that Manning has the fourth-highest rate of turnover worthy throws this season per PFF. Manning makes plenty of high-level NFL throws to help make up for the squirrelly moments. His “big-time throw” rate, per PFF, ranks seventh nationally. But the best quarterbacks make those plays and edit out the mistakes.

That’s not happening right now for Texas’ QB1.

The lack of help around Arch Manning

Here’s some context for Manning’s fourth-quarter interceptions, both of which occurred down 29-14:

2nd-and-19

1st-and-20

The first interception was preceded by back-to-back false starts by true freshman left guard Nick Brooks (more on him later). The second interception was preceded by back-to-back false start penalties by Nick Brooks. That is not a typo!

Manning ultimately put the ball in the wrong place twice. But silly penalties — five false starts, a pair of holding calls — so often pushed Texas behind the chains in critical situations.

So did the inability to run the football.

Take away Manning’s 37 rushing yards and Texas’ backs combined for 15 yards on 11 carries. And that’s with the return from injury for starting running back Quintrevion Wisner, who had eight carries for 11 yards. That pitiful helplessness in the run game made Texas one dimensional and easy to defend.

It’s not new, either. Texas ranks 105th in rushing yards before contact. Things aren’t any better after contact for the ball carriers with the Longhorns ranking 121st nationally in average yards created after the first touch. 

Did I mention the offensive line is a mess? Florida generated pressure on 58% of Manning’s dropbacks. It got so bad for Texas that Brooks, a true freshman left guard, finished the day with a 0 PFF pass blocking grade.

Offensive line was a strength for Texas last year. Yet after over 100 starts and three draft picks walked out the door, o-line coach Kyle Flood’s unit has been a disaster, ranking 126th in pressure rate allowed. That’s tied with Virginia Tech, which fired its head coach a few weeks into the season.

A preseason injury to potential starting tackle Andre Cojoe hasn’t helped Texas’ o-line struggles. But the reality is the Longhorns just don’t have the depth or talent at the position necessary to compete in the SEC after some developmental misfires and some notable high school misses. Those whiffs are especially obvious in the 2025 class when you combine head-to-head losses (like Oklahoma starting OT Michael Fasusi) and late flips, like what occurred when Washington flipped John Mills in December. Mills emerged as a Day 1 starter for the Huskies and is playing well. 

Texas recognized that as an issue this offseason. It just didn’t do anything about it, losing USC guard transfer Emmanuel Pregnon to Oregon and failing to push a would-be tackle option into the portal at the spring deadline despite a $2 million dollar offer, per sources. 

Recruiting has been poor up front, with only one Top247 lineman brought in the last three cycles. Combine a lack of development with a lack of band-aid fixes, and you get the mess that is Texas’ offensive front, including having to play a struggling true freshman (Brooks) on the road in the team’s SEC debut.

And good luck to any quarterback — whether it be Peyton Manning or Arch Manning — surviving with no run game help and pressure in your face more than half the time.

🏈 Texas’ OL: A struggle in the Swamp

Some will be quick to blame Manning for the sacks based on how long he holds the ball. But, at least per PFF, only 11.8% of those pressures are directly attributed to the quarterback. That’s 45th of 50 qualifying quarterbacks. 

It makes you wonder why Steve Sarkisian shifted away from the RPO-heavy offense that he used with such deadly efficiency with Mac Jones at Alabama and later Quinn Ewers in Austin. Those quick throws and easy reads for the quarterback are happening far less often with Manning. 

Maybe that was done to highlight Manning’s strengths as a deep ball thrower, where Ewers’ made his hay with quick release and ability to fit balls into tight windows in intermediate spaces. Either way, there just aren’t a lot of easy throws being schemed for Manning. 

It doesn’t help Manning that Texas’ wide receiver corps is underwhelming. The most effective player in the room is redshirt freshman Parker Livingstone, a former three-star recruit. He’s a great story and a developmental win for Texas. But the Longhorns invested a LOT in those like former five-star Ryan Wingo or its trio of top 100 receivers from the 2025 class — they’re hardly sniffing the field — only to rank 58th nationally in passing yards per game. 

Think about the receivers when Manning was redshirting — Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Think about the receivers when Arch was a backup — Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond. Where are those guys? This being Manning’s supporting cast in a year Texas was building towards is a failure. 

Texas aggressively pursued several transfer portal receivers during the winter transfer portal window, knowing it had to replace departing production from a trio of draft-worthy players. It zeroed in on Georgia Tech’s Eric Singleton, but the Longhorns were out-bid by Auburn. Texas also gave serious consideration to USC’s Zachariah Branch. That pursuit was halted because Texas was hesitant to also take Branch’s brother, Zion, a safety transfer from the Trojans. Those misses led to Texas jumping on Mosley, a Stanford freshman transfer, during the spring transfer window. Mosley wasn’t as proven as those other options, but he was a better value. Mosley has missed all but one game this season recovering from an offseason leg injury, but he did flash against Florida. 

The running back room is struggling, too. There’s no Bijan Robinson, Jonathon Brooks or even Jaydon Blue to be found. Manning leads the team in rushing with 160 yards. Injuries have impacted that group with its projected top backs Wisner and CJ Baxter missing multiples games. But former blue-chips like Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark haven’t emerged as difference-makers in their absence. 

A promise of contention that’s not happening

Manning bet big on Texas when he committed in June of 2022, giving Texas their first No. 1 overall recruit out of high school since Vince Young.

The Longhorns were coming off a 5-7 season, but Manning believed in Steve Sarkisian’s vision for the program. Texas had just signed a top-five class and Manning wanted to develop under Sarkisian, who his high school coach Nelson Stewart called a “genius in the pass game and second to none in football acumen and offensive ideology” on the day Manning committed.

Talent shouldn’t be an issue in Austin. The Longhorns have signed four straight top six classes, including the No. 1 overall group in 2025. There five-blue chip recruits in Texas’ two-deep at receiver. There’s a four-star transfer at tight end. The right side of the o-line is fronted by a pair of former five-star recruits.

Yet all that talent, including Manning, has Texas starting at 3-2 and likely needing to win out to reach the College Football Playoff despite ranking as preseason No. 1 for the first time in program history. 

Texas didn’t ask for that No. 1 ranking, just like Manning didn’t ask for all the hype.

Reality is, however, both sides are failing to live up to their potential. It’s easy to point to Manning’s struggles and dump all the blame on QB1. But Texas also failed in its promise to surround Manning with the requisite talent. 

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