Manning Rebounds From Scrutiny To Revive Texas Season
Arch Manning has accounted for nine touchdowns over Texas's last three games, a stretch that has turned around a season that appeared to be slipping away after consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Florida. The Longhorns have now won three straight, re-entering the College Football Playoff conversation after sitting at 4-2.
The turnaround follows a familiar pattern for Manning. A year ago, he struggled through a difficult start that included rough outings against Ohio State and Florida, dropping Texas to 3-2 and prompting head coach Steve Sarkisian to publicly defend his quarterback. Manning righted himself after a Week 8 game against Kentucky, closing his junior season with wins over Texas A&M and Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. This season's slump carried similar stakes: after the loss to Florida, Sarkisian said "everything is going to be evaluated" and did not rule out a quarterback change, while backup KJ Lacey reportedly received increased first-team practice reps. Manning answered by leading Texas past then-No. 10 Ole Miss. bookmaker beach soccer
The statistical improvement since that game has been measurable. Manning's average time to throw has dropped to 2.76 seconds over the last three games, nearly half a second faster than earlier in the season, and he has topped 200 passing yards in three consecutive weeks after doing so only three times in his first six games. The offense he is running replaced five starters from a year ago and absorbed Sarkisian's largest transfer-portal class to date, a rebuild that was always going to take time. Manning's rushing numbers are down significantly compared to last season, a shift that coincides with Texas relying less on designed quarterback runs than it did during the Quinn Ewers era.
Texas now faces its most difficult remaining test of the regular season: a road game at No. 14 LSU in Baton Rouge. The result will shape both the Longhorns' playoff positioning and the continuing narrative around their quarterback's development.
