Arch Manning already had a historic night against Arkansas, but the performance also produced a perfect snapshot of what Texas football wants to be under Steve Sarkisian. In a 52-37 win that kept the Longhorns at 8-3 and firmly in the New Year’s Six and fringe CFP conversation, Manning became the first player in program history to record a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown in the same game, piling up six total scores in a career-defining outing.
One of those touchdowns came on a trick-play moment straight out of a video game. Early in the first quarter, wide receiver Parker Livingstone took the ball and lofted it back to Manning, who stretched his 6-foot-4 frame to haul in the pass for a score.
As Sarkisian turned to celebrate, he found program legend Vince Young on the sideline, who slapped his hand and joked that he wished he’d been able to run that call back in his own Texas days, Sark recounted to ESPN.
It was more than a cute anecdote. Young’s reaction underlined how fully the Manning era is being embraced by the program’s old guard. On a night when the sophomore quarterback hit deep shots to DeAndre Moore Jr. and Livingstone, added a short rushing score, and generally toyed with Arkansas’ secondary, the former national title hero was right there endorsing the new face of Texas football.
Sarkisian has leaned into that blend of old-school physicality and modern creativity. Texas used tempo, motion, and gadgets to keep Arkansas off balance, but the Longhorns also leaned on a downhill run game and a defense that tightened after halftime.
The 21-point margin in the second half made the final score more comfortable than the back-and-forth first half suggested.
After the game, Sarkisian made it clear that style points only matter if Texas keeps stacking wins. As he told reporters, the best way to impress anyone on the CFP committee is simple: finish the regular season by taking care of business next Friday night.
Beating Arkansas was step one, but how Texas closes against unbeaten Texas A&M will ultimately shape its postseason ceiling.
Still, the image that will linger from the Arkansas game is Manning celebrating a touchdown while Vince Young beams on the sideline. For a fan base that measures everything against 2005, seeing a new star deliver a record-breaking performance with one of the program’s all-time icons cheering him on is exactly the kind of symbolism Texas has been craving.
