Arch Manning wasn’t exactly sweating the noise around Steve Sarkisian’s postgame run-in with Holly Rowe.
The Texas quarterback said he had seen an AI-generated edit of Sarkisian slapping the veteran reporter, and he couldn’t help but laugh about it during a press conference. “I saw the AI Edit of (Sark) slapping Holly Rowe,” Manning said as he laughed.
The moment that set off the backlash came right after Texas’ 24-23 comeback win over No. 1 Ohio State.
In the middle of the on-field celebration, Rowe caught Sarkisian for a quick postgame interview, but the Texas coach barely let her get through her first sentence before cutting her off. “That’s called Texas fight!
Hook ’em,” he shouted straight into the camera lens before sprinting off to celebrate with his players, leaving Rowe visibly frustrated.
Manning’s reaction suggested he wasn’t taking the whole episode too seriously, especially with Texas coming out on top in such a dramatic way. No. 4 Texas had just pulled off a historic win, and the result changed the mood around the program fast.
On the field, Manning had a rough start against a strong Buckeyes defense. Texas trailed 23-3 through three quarters before ripping off the biggest fourth-quarter comeback ever against a top-ranked opponent. Manning helped turn everything around by leading three straight touchdown drives in the final period.
He finished 23-of-37 for 196 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The comeback started with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, which kicked off a 21-point unanswered run.
“I always knew we were going to be in it in the end,” Manning stated following the victory.
That win pushed the undefeated Longhorns to No. 1 in the updated AP poll.
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