Arch Manning’s first season as Texas Longhorns’ starting quarterback has been strictly average. The highly anticipated successor has struggled to deliver consistent performances, and his latest outing against UTEP highlighted the growing concerns.
Manning finished the game with only 11 completions on 25 attempts for 114 yards. He threw a costly interception and went through a frustrating stretch of 10 straight incompletions. Boos echoed across the stadium as fans questioned whether the young quarterback was the right fit to lead the team.
The calls to bench Manning grew louder in real time and are still ongoing. Steve Sarkisian, however, stood firm in his approach. When he was recently asked why he didn’t bench Manning, he made his stance clear with an explanation.
“If Arch was having a bunch of mental errors and not operating the offense well, that maybe would have required to take him out,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t think that was the case. Different things require different things to get your point across. We handled it accordingly.”
Sarkisian: “If Arch was having a bunch of mental errors and not operating the offense well, that maybe would have required to take him out. I didn’t think that was the case. Different things require different things to get your point across. We handled it accordingly. We’ll…
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) September 15, 2025
The coach is still hopeful that Manning will come out of this slump without rearranging the team’s order and will have a great game on Saturday. He has stressed that Manning’s struggles are primarily mental rather than structural.
Sarkisian believes the quarterback is still operating the offense effectively, even if the results are not showing on the scoreboard. For Sarkisian, the issue lies in decision-making and confidence, not in the ability to run the playbook.
Stephen A. Smith Believes Steve Sarkisian is Operating Under Pressure
In Week 2, Texas bounced back from their opening game loss against Ohio State and registered a dominant 38-7 win against San Jose State. The joy of winning was overshadowed by rumors about Manning being injured.
After the game, when coach Sarkisian was asked about the same, he tried to brush it off with a bizarre analogy.
“He doesn’t have any [problems],” Sarkisian SAID. “I’ve never filmed any of you guys when you use the bathroom. So, I don’t know what faces you make when you’re doing that.”
While discussing his comments on “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith claimed that such a response could be a result of the pressure Sarkisian is feeling this season.
“Seems to me like Sarkisian is feeling some pressure,” Smith said. “And he needs to feel some pressure because the expectations at Texas are very, very high, as well they should be because they have a hell of a team.” (1:40)
Steve Sarkisian has one of the strongest rosters in the country this season, and so far, even with two wins, their run has been disappointing. So, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that he’s also feeling the pressure that Arch Manning is under.
If their performances in the coming weeks aren’t impressive, the criticism is only going to get worse from here.
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