This is the question that Longhorn fans want the answer to. Arch Manning played the best game of his season by a wide margin yesterday, finishing with over 300 total yards and 5 TDs. He looked confident, played on-time and on-target consistently and finally showed why so many were high on him coming into the season. Now, we have to figure out if it’s a sign of what’s to come or a one-off performance.
This is a question that can’t be answered until at least two weeks, when Texas plays Florida. Despite not knowing with certainty, there are some very encouraging signs that Manning might be turning a corner. The main among them is his “swagger” coming out in this game for the first time all year. On his first rushing TD of the day, he had some words for Sam Houston State’s LB, Antavious Fish. While, as Arch admitted himself, it might’ve been a little bit too much, it showed a passion and energy that hasn’t been present all year.
Whether you like that celebration or not, it can’t be denied that Manning was playing with more confidence in this game. After two nervous-looking throws to start the day, Manning started rolling and didn’t look back. He hit timing routes, like outs and curls, perfectly, layered some beautiful passes on crossing routes and threw a beautiful 53-yard TD to Ryan Wingo. Everything looked the way it had in 2024, both in energy and execution.
It now should be said that yes, Sam Houston State is not a great football team, particularly in comparison to the SEC teams Texas will play. They have one of the very worst pass defenses in the country, so this is what Arch Manning “should” do against this unit. That being said, he “should’ve” done that against UTEP last week, so this is a positive, it’s just unknown how much. One thing that is encouraging is it seems to be showing up in practice as well, with an interesting story leading up to this game, that shows Arch believes he’s found it.
Whether or not Arch Manning is “back” was not answered yesterday. It will be answered against Florida, Oklahoma and the rest of the SEC schedule for Texas. He still needs to go on the road and prove he can handle it. He still needs to beat a top opponent and perform well. There is absolutely no doubt about that. That being said, I would be willing to bet the Arch Manning we saw yesterday is closer to what we will see the rest of the way than the one we got the first three weeks. That can’t and won’t be confirmed for quite a while, but it’s clear the confidence is finally growing for Arch.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Has Texas Football QB Arch Manning finally turned a corner?
Reporting by Tommy Bresee, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
