Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns know they now find themselves between a rock and a hard place. With a 7-3 (4-2 conference) record in the 2025 NCAA campaign, the burnt orange is one mistake away from waving its college football season goodbye.
Amid such character-testing times in college football, it’s easy for the young athletes in Austin to get in over their heads and lose their cool. Therefore, staying composed is a must if the Longhorns are serious about turning the ship around. It won’t be easy, but turning on each other is not the answer Manning and company are looking for.
On that note, Arch Manning delivered a very honest and straightforward comment on how he handles nervousness, and how he stays cool, calm, and collected through the roughest waters he’s ever sailed in his career. The Eyes of Texas are fixed upon him, and the last thing the Longhorns need is to see their quarterback show signs of stress. However, keeping that composure when push comes to shove and every play could determine the season’s outcome is what truly matters.
“We’re all human, make mistakes,” Manning admitted during his weekly press conference. “Just move on. [The receivers] are not trying to drop the ball, I’m not trying to throw a bad ball.”
Arch Manning at Sanford Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Athens, Georgia.
Manning’s confidence is on the rise
While the latest setback against the Georgia Bulldogs was far from encouraging for Manning and the Longhorns, the sophomore quarterback continues to evolve his game on Steve Sarkisian’s offense. As he commented to reporters, his confidence is only on the rise despite the recent defeat in college football.
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“I just feel more comfortable out there in the offense,” Manning commented, via @ZachDimmitt7 on X. “Feel like I’m seeing [the field] well, just got to continue to get better each week. I feel like the game is slowing down a little bit. We just got to continue to improve as a group.”
When great quarterbacks talk about their game, it’s very common for them to mention how the action slows down for them. When they find their groove, they don’t panic, and each play feels much slower than it actually is. In more ways than one, playing the quarterback position is being the chorus director amid the chaos, and only the most talented manage to control the pace.
Others simply join the frenzy and hope for the best on every single snap, but fortune can only take one so far. For the Longhorns, hearing Manning is beginning to see the game slow down may be just what they needed heading into the decisive games of the NCAA season.
Arch Manning at Sanford Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Athens, Georgia.
Home stretch of the season for Texas
With just two games left on the schedule, the margin for error has become non-existent for the Longhorns. Manning and the crew will play the final two weeks at home in Austin, but the pressure won’t be any less suffocating because of it. In the City of the Violet Crown, the burnt orange will vie to stay alive in a season that has left them feeling blue at times and shown them they are still green at others. Still, that could all be reversed with a red-hot home stretch to close it out.
Up next, the Longhorns will host the 2-8 (0-6 SEC) Arkansas Razorbacks—an opponent Steve Sarkisian has warned Manning and Texas about—on November 22. To close out the season, the battle of all battles will unfold at DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium when the Texas A&M Aggies travel down to Austin from College Station.
The Aggies will look to preserve their unbeaten record and derail the Longhorns’ campaign. Meanwhile, Texas will fight to stay alive while trying to land a massive blow on Texas A&M, which is chasing its first unbeaten season since 1994 (10-0-1).
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