Saturday night’s win over Arkansas looked like the kind of game that lives forever on a quarterback’s highlight reel. Texas football team absolutely rode Arch Manning in a 52-37 shootout, and the redshirt sophomore answered with six total touchdowns, becoming the first Longhorn ever to score via pass, run, and reception in the same contest.
For most programs, that would be the story. For Manning and Texas, it was only part of it. Even in the middle of a historic stat line, the quarterback walked off the field thinking more about the throws he missed than the ones he hit.
Manning’s performance is encouraging because, despite his gaudy numbers, he said he feels like he still didn’t play his best game. “I left a lot out there,” he said. “I could have been more accurate.” That honest self-critique came via ESPN, and it tells you everything about the standard he is chasing in Austin.
The tape backs up the duality: pure fireworks with a side of nitpicking. Manning finished 18-of-30 for 389 yards and four passing scores, added a short rushing touchdown, and hauled in a trick-play TD from Parker Livingstone on a design that had Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium roaring.
He repeatedly punished Arkansas on deep shots to DeAndre Moore Jr. and Livingstone, yet still focused afterward on ball placement, timing, and a few drives that stalled. For a Texas team now 8-3 and clinging to outside hopes of a New Year’s Six or better, that mindset might be their best asset.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian sounded a similar note of urgency after the win. While he praised his quarterback’s explosion and the offense’s 52-point outburst, he zeroed in on what comes next, stressing that Texas can only impress the College Football Playoff committee by closing the regular season with another statement performance against unbeaten Texas A&M.
Sarkisian also went out of his way to respect Arkansas, calling the Razorbacks far tougher than their 2-9 record suggests and pointing out how many ranked teams they’ve pushed to the brink this season. In his view, surviving that kind of opponent and then pulling away is exactly the kind of test his group needed heading into rivalry week.
If Manning can pair this level of production with the cleaner execution he’s demanding from himself, Texas might have one more loud chapter left to write before the postseason picture is finalized.
