Sam Houston’s Antavious Fish missed a tackle at the goal line and stumbled into the end zone as Texas quarterback Arch Manning hovered over him in celebration. It was a rare show of emotion from Manning, who received a quick admonishment from officials but no penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
One of five total touchdowns in the Longhorns’ 55-0 win from Manning, the score was a much-needed confidence builder for the young star.
“Yeah, the ref came up to me. I was so scared,” Manning said, via Horns247. “The ref ripped my ass. I apologized to the ref. I didn’t say anything to the guy.”
Manning’s 5-yard touchdown run pushed the Longhorns’ early lead to 14-0 near the end of the first quarter. It was a smart, well-executed red zone decision from the third-year sophomore who, for the first time this season, played a full game without a turnover and was precise with his throws.
Needless to say, the positivity sparked a reaction out of Manning, who flexed over his defender.
“Yeah, felt good to get back in the end zone. Probably a little much there [in staring down the defender],” Manning said. “My mom was pretty mad about that. Little immature, but I think it’s some built-up frustration for the past few weeks.”
Those “past few weeks” for Manning included 10 straight incompletions at one point during the Longhorns’ Week 3 win over UTEP and inconsistent play against San Jose State and Ohio State prior to that.
Manning finished 18 of 21 for 309 yards and three touchdowns through 2.5 quarters before heading to the bench against the Bearkats, a mind-cleanser of sorts that should help this offense as a unit pushing forward this season.
Independent of the fact winless Sam Houston is one of the nation’s worst teams statistically, Manning’s ultimate test in the face of doubters and those questioning his ability will be his next start — the SEC opener at Florida during the first weekend of October.
“I’m not worried about what anyone thinks in the narratives. I’m just ready to play ball and get wins,” Manning said. “That’s the most important, especially going into SEC play.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said prior to Saturday’s 55-point win that he wanted players to perform stress-free, especially his quarterback. As the leader of a team that was once ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll to begin the season, Manning took heed to his coach’s advice.
“Part of it is they want to do right, they want to do well,” Sarkisian said. “Sometimes you can get a little paralysis by analysis when you’re trying to be so perfect, we’re going to make some mistakes, that’s human nature, that’s football. Nobody plays perfectly. We’re going to play a lot better when we’re loose and free, trusting our training, playing fast, playing physical, and that’s how they’ve been practicing, so I just want them to be able to take practice to the game and go cut it loose.”
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