Arch Manning doesn’t need a masterpiece on Saturday afternoon. He needs a cleaner start.
Texas opens its season against Texas State at 2:30 pm CT at home on ESPN, and the most obvious measuring stick for the Longhorns is how Manning looks in the first live action of the year. Last season, he completed 61.4% of his passes, a number that ranked No. 81 in FBS.
Through three games in 2025, that number sat at 54.7%. That’s the kind of early-season stat line Texas can’t afford to let linger, especially with the added help the Longhorns brought in on offense.
Texas added WR Cam Coleman and RBs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers in the offseason, and that should give Manning more to work with right away. The expectation here isn’t perfection. It’s a sharper opening act, one that shows he’s getting into rhythm faster than he did a year ago.
The contrast on the other sideline is hard to ignore. Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson completed 71.3% of his passes last season as a freshman, which ranked No. 5 nationally.
That sets a pretty clear benchmark for efficiency, even if the two situations aren’t identical. For Manning, the point is simple: Texas needs him to look settled and accurate from the jump.
Manning is only one part of the equation, though. The Longhorns’ running game and the other names in the mix Saturday will also help define what counts as a good debut for Texas in this opener.
In Other News...
College GameDay Sees Texas As A Contender But Not A Sure Thing
ESPNs College GameDay spent part of the weekend sorting through the SECs top tier, and Texas came out of it with something close to a respectability stamp. Several of the panels analysts, including Nick Saban and Desmond Howard, weighed in on the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff National Championship, and the consensus leaned toward Georgia as the favorite to come out of the conference. Even so, the Longhorns were firmly in the conversation, which is where they wanted to be entering another season with bigger expectations attached to the program.
Desmond Howard went a step farther and picked Texas to win both the SEC and the national title, a reminder that the Longhorns are being viewed as more than just a team with upside. At the same time, the broader skepticism around the league suggests they still have to prove they belong in that same elite bucket as Georgia. Texas will get its first chance to start making that case when it opens the season against Texas State, with the early weeks likely to shape how much of that playoff buzz is real. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Returns To Knoxville For A UT Showdown Fans Will Feel
Texas is headed back to a familiar old SEC-era stage next fall, with the Longhorns set to meet Tennessee on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. The noon ET kickoff gives the game a marquee spot on the schedule, and the setting alone should give it a different feel from a typical nonconference road trip, especially for fans who still remember how rarely these two programs have crossed paths in East Tennessee.
What makes the trip even more notable is the return to a venue where Texas has not played this matchup in generations, which only adds to the anticipation around a game that already carries plenty of name recognition. Tickets are already on the market too, with prices stretching from $350 to $1,650, a reminder that this one is expected to draw plenty of attention well before the teams actually get to Knoxville. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Depth Chart Already Reveals A Few Surprising Early Battles
Texas released its first official depth chart of the season ahead of the Texas State game, and it already offered a few hints about where the early competition is fiercest. The Longhorns listed starters and backups across offense, defense and special teams, giving the first real look at how the staff is sorting out roles after camp.
Among the more notable choices, sophomore Dylan Sikorski is penciled in ahead of sixth-year Laurence Seymore at left guard, a sign that the interior line picture is still taking shape. The rest of the chart also suggests Texas is not afraid to make some early calls and keep a few jobs open to challenge, which is exactly the kind of pressure a team wants before the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]