Texas football has been to the playoffs the last two years under Steve Sarkisian. After the loss to Florida, Texas has dropped out of the top 25 and is in disarray. While Arch Manning was expected to bring Texas to a national title, he has been average at best, and it is time to consider benching Manning.
Texas was a major favorite heading into the game with Florida, but the Gators took a 29-21 victory over the Longhorns, sending Texas to 3-2 on the season. Now, Manning, who has struggled, is in the spotlight. In the 2024 season, Steve Sarkisian refused to bench Quinn Ewers for Manning. It resulted in a loss in the Cotton Bowl to Ohio State. Still, that team lost three times overall, with just one regular-season loss. This team has already lost twice in the regular season and now needs to consider which quarterback is leading them.
Texas is struggling
Texas is struggling and dropping in the power rankings. The team is just 3-2 on the year and does not have a win over a power conference opponent. The Longhorns lost in Week 1 to Ohio State, which would be excusable if they dominated the rest of the schedule. They have done anything but that. While the team won three straight, it was not perfect.
Texas was a 36.5-point favorite against San Jose State, but won by 31. Against UTEP, the Longhorns were a 40.5-point favorite and won by just 17. They finally covered the spread against Sam Houston, but that is a struggling team in Conference USA.
In Week 6, Texas was a favorite by 6.5 points, but ended up losing to the Gators 28-21. Now, Texas has lost twice in the regular season for the first time since 2022, and Manning is a major reason why.
Why Texas needs to bench Arch Manning
Manning has not been as advertised this year. He has completed just 82 of 135 passes for 1,151 yards and 11 touchdowns. Still, he has been sacked nine times while also throwing five interceptions this year. Manning has been solid on the ground, running for 160 yards and five scores this year. His performance against Ohio State was less than stellar. In that game, he completed just 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Further, he was sacked and intercepted once.
Manning then threw eight touchdown passes and ran in five touchdowns over the next three weeks agaisnt lower-level competition. He also threw interceptions against San Jose State and UTEP. Florida, which has a stellar defense, took advantage of the poor decision-making Manning has shown so far this year. Against Florida, the quarterback threw for just 263 yards and two scores. Still, he was picked twice and sacked six times.
The Longhorns are about to face another great defense as they face Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma is second in the nation in opponent points per game while also sitting second in opponent points per game. Oklahoma has also been great agaisnt the pass, sitting first in the nation in sack percentage and fifth in opponent passing yards per game.
Texas is dealing with injuries on the offensive line, and Manning is being pressured on a consistent basis. Not only is he struggling on the field, but he is also dealing with an injury. With the injury and the fact that the quarterback for Texas will likely be under constant pressure in this upcoming game, he needs to take the week off. This will not only protect his health, but also his confidence, as he will be hit plenty of times against Oklahoma. This should place Matthew Caldwell in the lineup.
Who is Matthew Caldwell?
Caldwell is a senior quarterback for the Longhorns. He started his career at Jacksonville State before two seasons at Gardner-Webb. In the 2024 season, he was with Troy, completed 141 of 223 passes for 1,608 yards and 13 scores. He also ran for five touchdowns on the ground.
Caldwell has been solid already this season for the Longhorns. He has completed seven of ten passes for 75 yards. Further, he has run for 64 yards on the ground. In the game with Florida, he got into the game for one pass, completing the pass for 26 yards. He was also solid in the prior game with Sam Houston, completing four of six passes for 27 yards while also having a 50-yard run in the game.
Caldwell is not the same level of talent as Manning, but with the Oklahoma defense and the fact that Manning is still young, plus dealing with a potential injury, Steve Sarkisian needs to protect his quarterback. The best way to do that is to place him on the bench for a week, rely on the ground game against Oklahoma, and hope the defense can step up.
