Arch Manning benching talk grows after Texas falls to Florida
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Florida beat Number 7 Texas 27-24 on October 17 in Austin. Texas lost its second straight game.
- Coach Steve Sarkisian said he will evaluate everything. He did not rule out a change at quarterback.
- Arch Manning threw for 173 yards and one score. He lost a late fumble that ended the game.
Florida beat Number 7 Texas 27-24 on Saturday, October 17. The game took place in Austin, Texas. Now one question leads the talk around Texas football. Will the Longhorns bench Arch Manning?
Searches for benching talk jumped after the game. Benching means taking the starter out of the lineup. The backup would then start.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian did not shut the idea down. He said every part of the offense is under review.
What happened
Texas started fast. The Longhorns led 17-3 early in the game. Sarkisian later said the first quarter was the lone bright spot.
After that, Texas faded. Florida took charge in the second half.
The Gators fought back and won 27-24. Texas was Number 7 in the AP Top 25. The AP Top 25 is a weekly list of the best 25 teams. Two weeks ago, Texas sat at Number 1. The fall has been fast.
The loss was the second in a row. Texas lost 27-24 to Oklahoma one week before. That game was the big rivalry game against the Sooners.
Two straight losses by the same score tell the story. Texas went from the top of the sport to a team in trouble.
Manning had a hard day. He went 14 of 20 for 173 yards. He threw one touchdown pass.
He threw no interceptions. An interception is a pass caught by the other team. Manning had just 68 passing yards in the first half.
He found a late score, but it was not enough.
Florida sacked him five times. A sack is when the defense tackles the quarterback behind the line. Each sack kills a play.
Five sacks show how much heat Manning faced all day.
Late in the game, Texas had one last chance. The team trailed by three points. About two minutes were left on the clock.
Manning was sacked again. He lost the ball. Florida got it back.
The game was over.
The fumble was his third fourth-quarter turnover this season. A turnover is a lost ball or a bad pass that gives the ball away. It was the most in the SEC.
The SEC is the league Texas plays in.
Texas ran just 50 plays on offense. That was the lowest total in Sarkisian's time at Texas. Fewer plays mean fewer chances to score.
Texas also struggled on third down. The team made just 2 of 10 third-down tries. Third down is often the play that keeps a drive alive.
Texas also lost star defender Colin Simmons. He left with a leg injury. He did not return to the game.
Sarkisian said after the game that he did not know how bad the injury was.
Why it matters
Sarkisian did not hide his anger. He said Texas is not playing very good football right now. He said he has to evaluate everything.
It will be a long night, he said. He said Texas did not play well outside the first quarter. "We kind of bled out," he said.
Reporters asked about a quarterback change. A quarterback change means the backup starts the next game. Sarkisian did not say no.
"Everything means everything," he said. Those three words started the benching talk.
He also said Manning was not the only problem. He asked if Manning was perfect. His answer was no.
Sarkisian said nobody was perfect on offense that day. He said the team took turns making mistakes. One fix will not solve it all.
Sarkisian calls the plays himself. So his own work is part of the review. He said the review covers the offense.
He said part of that is play calling. The review covers the plan, the calls, and the players.
The problems run deep. Texas came in ranked 82nd in total offense. Total offense means all yards gained on runs and passes.
The team had 379.2 yards per game. That is low for a team with big goals.
Texas had won 22 straight home games against unranked teams. Unranked means outside the Top 25. That streak is now over. Florida came into the game on a two-game losing streak.
The Gators still won in Austin.
Texas is now the third team since 1936 to fall this way. The team went from Number 1 to back-to-back losses against unranked teams. That is per ESPN Research.
It is a rare and ugly mark in the record books.
Manning's fall is steep. Not long ago, he was the betting favorite to go first in the 2027 NFL draft. The NFL draft is how pro teams pick new players.
He is the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning. Both men starred in the NFL. The family name brings huge attention.
It also brings huge pressure.
Florida played with a backup quarterback. Tramell Jones made his first career start.
He threw for 155 yards and two scores. That makes the loss sting more. Texas lost at home to a team that started a new quarterback.
Sarkisian named more issues after the game. He said the team had scheme issues. Scheme means the plan on each play.
He said the team had execution issues. Execution means doing the plan right. He also said the team had a belief issue.
He said Texas must believe it can gain short yards.
The short-yardage failures hurt most. Texas could not run for two yards when it had to. Small plays decide close games.
Texas lost those small plays.
What happens next
Texas hosts Ole Miss next Saturday in Austin. That game is the next test. Sarkisian must pick a starter before then.
He can stick with Manning. Or he can turn to backup KJ Lacey. NBC Sports named KJ Lacey as the man who could step in.
A benching would be a big call. Manning is young. He still has time to grow.
But Texas has big goals this year. The team wants to reach the College Football Playoff. The playoff picks the best teams at the end of the season.
Texas must win soon to stay in the race. Wins against ranked teams are now a must.
Manning said every player at Texas is judged each week. He said all of them must get better. That is per ESPN.
His words show he knows the pressure. He knows the talk will not stop on its own.
Texas is now 4-2. The team is 1-2 in SEC play. The road ahead is hard. Texas still faces Mississippi State, Missouri, Arkansas, and LSU.
Each game is a test. Each loss makes the playoff path steeper.
Sarkisian will spend the week on film and on practice. He will weigh the tape, the stats, and the mood of the team. Then he will name his starter.
For now, Manning waits. And all of Texas watches.
Week 7 brought more wild games. Read Auburn stuns Georgia 27-24 and BYU beats Notre Dame 28-24. To see which teams are still unbeaten, check undefeated college football teams in Week 7.
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