Arch Manning

Is Arch Manning a Fraud?

 Is Arch Manning nothing without the Manning name? Many people wondered before the season started whether Arch Manning was worth all the hype. He barely played last year, taking only a couple of snaps. However, he still had the weight of the world on his shoulders, being a Heisman forerunner and a Manning. He had his chance to prove his own value in the biggest matchup of the year on opening Saturday against Ohio State, and he did anything but that. He was horrible. 

In his opening matchup against the National champs, he threw for 17-30 for 170 with a touchdown and a pick. Nevertheless, the numbers don’t just tell the story; he was throwing errant passes and missing his receivers by a wide margin. He spent too much time in the pocket and kept getting hit. He looked like a man with no confidence in his ability and played as such. He looked like a shell of his former self following his ULM debut. After such a disappointing performance under the brightest lights, his NIL evaluation tanked by nearly half a million, and his Heisman odds also tanked.

Heading into week two, Texas fans were dreading having to watch Arch; however, Arching bounced back with 295 yards and four touchdowns, while running in a fifth. This Arch looked like a completely different person; he was confident and slinging the ball downfield, bullying the San Jose State defense. He looked a lot more like Manning. He threw an 83-yard touchdown on third down to get momentum going for Texas. After that, it was non-stop offense as he controlled the game. However, it was a sloppy game for Texas with 115 penalty yards and one pick for Arch in the red zone. Texas definitely needs to improve if they want to compete with teams like Ohio State and Penn State, but this was definitely a step in the right direction for Texas and Arch Manning. Hopefully, this performance gave him his confidence back. Nevertheless, it was still a sloppy game, especially considering they played San Jose State. While a solid team, they cannot hold a candle to Ohio State.

This performance makes one wonder if Arch is only able to play well against mediocre teams, but when true talent and greatness come on the opposing side of the gridiron, is he able to rise, challenge, and ball out? He is still young and not as experienced, having to sit behind Quinn Ewer for most of last year, but Arch is exceptionally talented and hardworking, and he will figure it out. Texas has a star in Arch, they need to give him some time under his feet so that he can reach his full potential and bring Texas a National Championship this year. Arch will only make the Manning name more famous and stacked with football legends.

Timmy Hale ‘27