Arch Manning’s Starting Spot at Texas Suddenly Questioned After Narrow Win Over Kentucky—What’s Really Going On?

Was Arch Manning’s latest performance a glimpse of grit or just another head-scratcher for the Texas Longhorns? After inching past Kentucky 16-13 in an overtime thriller, Manning’s uneven showing — a mix of missed opportunities and flashes of brilliance — has fans buzzing and whispers of a bench looming. Yet, head coach Steve Sarkisian’s refusal to pull the plug on his sophomore QB paints a picture of patience mixed with high expectations. Still, one has to wonder: can the Longhorns’ fractured offensive line and coaching adjustments forge the kind of support Arch needs to truly shine, or are we watching the beginning of a tougher battle ahead? The season’s stakes are rising, and so is the pressure on Manning to elevate his game, for better or worse. LEARN MORE

As the Texas football team escaped Kentucky in overtime, 16-13, on Saturday, it was another outing from quarterback Arch Manning that was lackluster to say the least. With the preparation of the Texas football star in question, there have been some fans speculating whether Manning would be benched, as head coach Steve Sarkisian answers the question.

Speaking to the media after the win over the Wildcats, Sarkisian would say that he “wouldn’t” in regards to consider a change at quarterback from Manning. As Manning threw for 132 yards with no touchdowns or picks, completing 12 of 27 pass attempts, Sarkisian would say there were some “critical passes that he didn’t make,” but others were impressive.

He would also challenge the offensive line to protect him and the coaching staff to give him easy completions, according to On3 Sports.

“We need to play better up front to protect him. It’s not fun when you’re at quarterback and you’re getting hit.” Sarkisian said. “It was way too leaky for him, and in turn, that can create some uneasiness when you have opportunities to make throws and you don’t. I do think there was a couple of critical passes that he didn’t make…But we’ve got to find ways to get him more completions. That’s our job as a staff to find that comfort level for him because there were some really good plays in there.”

Texas football’s Steve Sarkisian on Arch Manning’s rough outing

Texas’ Archie Manning passes the ball to Jack Endries against Kentucky Saturday night at Kroger Field. Oct. 18, 2025 — Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After the Texas football team beat Oklahoma and Kentucky, the program has a bit of mojo heading into the rest of the schedule, though the performance of Manning is still under a microscope. While it was another rough outing for Manning, Sarkisian would share his confidence in how much of a competitor the sophomore quarterback is and his drive to be better.

“I think he’s a competitor like all those guys in that locker room. He’s a great teammate. He sees how well the defense is playing and wants to play well for those guys, too. The competitor in him, he’s grinding it out. Leading, everything that’s going on,” Sarkisian said. “He’s running the ball. He’s fighting. He’ll play better. But as I said, we need to be better around him, we need to be better as coaches, and he needs to be better too.”

At any rate. Manning and the Longhorns look to further improve next against Mississippi State.

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