Arch Manning made his debut as the starting quarterback — this time at home — and his performance didn’t disappoint. A dominant win over San Jose State brought some relief to a Texas Longhorns team that had opened the 2025 NCAAF season with a loss on the road against the Buckeyes.
The quarterback finished the game with four touchdown passes and even added a rushing score with an impressive run. Yet, despite the strong stat line, he didn’t seem entirely satisfied with his performance.
In a recent postgame interview following his team’s convincing 38–7 win over the Spartans, Manning was openly critical of his own performance, making it clear that he expects to raise the bar even higher moving forward.
“Once again, not very good. We’ve got to clean up a lot of things,” he said. “Some guys made plays, which is good, but overall it was a little sloppy. … I thought I made more plays and attacked more, but it was still sloppy all around.”
Sarkisian satisfied with Manning’s performance
In contrast to Manning’s own assessment of his performance against San Jose State, head coach Steve Sarkisian expressed enthusiasm about what he saw on the field, particularly highlighting the quarterback’s ability to make plays with his legs.
“I thought he had a really good game today,” the HC said. “He took advantage of some throws down the field. Lesson learned on a protection breakdown — forcing the ball — but we’re going to have some of those growing pains. I thought he used his legs well, scored a touchdown, threw it downfield, and created some explosive plays.”
What’s next for the Longhorns?
After bouncing back from a disappointing Week 1 debut, the Longhorns now face a stretch of games that could pave the way for a potential winning streak.
- vs UTEP, September 13
- vs Sam Houston, September 20
- @ Florida, October 4
- @ Oklahoma, October 11
- @ Kentucky, October 18