Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has no problem saying the quiet part out loud when it comes to Arch Manning: the name on the back of the jersey changes how people judge the quarterback.
For Manning, that scrutiny has been part of the package from the start. As the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and the grandson of Archie Manning, he has spent his career hearing the "nepo baby" label, and it only got louder after he threw two fourth-quarter interceptions in Texas’ 27-24 loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in Week 6.
Sarkisian pushed back Monday, arguing that if Manning were anyone else, the conversation would look a lot different.
"If you took the last name off the back of his jersey and you said, 'Here's Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas,' ... we'd be praising the guy," the coach said Monday (h/t Julian Martinez of KTBC-TV in Austin).
Sarkisian pointed to Manning’s work against top competition as proof that the criticism misses the bigger picture. He noted that Manning has four wins over Associated Press top-10 opponents, including one this season.
That came in Week 2, when Manning helped Texas rally past then-No. 1 Ohio State 24-23 after the Longhorns had fallen behind 23-3 in the third quarter. The performance was not clean - he completed 23 of 37 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception - but it still ended with Texas walking out with a win.
The numbers, though, have been pretty ordinary through five starts in 2026. Manning has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,122 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
That’s part of why the conversation around him hasn’t gone away. Manning finished 2025 on a stronger note, tying for 17th in the nation with 26 touchdown passes in 13 games, but he has not yet taken the next step some expected.
The lingering question is whether he’s seeing the field well enough. Sarkisian doesn’t believe Manning is having trouble processing what defenses are showing him, but Fox analyst Joel Klatt offered a different view in a clip posted to X Monday.
"He doesn't process information all that quickly," the former Colorado Buffaloes QB said. "His eyes tend to be in the wrong spot at times. You saw that on the last interception [against Oklahoma]."
The reality is that the expectations attached to Manning’s name were always going to be enormous. The skills people assume come with the Manning family do not just appear; they get built through reps and experience, and Texas’ quarterback still needs more of both.
So yes, his last name has brought unfair criticism. It has also made him impossible to ignore.
Manning cannot separate himself from that reality, and Sarkisian will have to keep guiding him through it as Texas, now 4-1, gets ready for Saturday’s home game against Florida, which is 4-2. The game is set for noon ET on ABC.
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Arch Manning Debate Gets More Awkward After Oklahoma Win
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The discussion did not stay within the Texas locker room for long. ESPNs Paul Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers both publicly took issue with Sarkisians defense, and the pushback added another layer to a conversation that has followed Manning all season. For Oklahoma fans, it was a familiar kind of aftermath from a rivalry game: the Sooners got the win, and the fallout centered on whether Texas quarterback is being judged too kindly or too harshly, with the larger question about his current level of play still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]