Aaron Rodgers' brother Jordan gives Arch Manning his flowers ahead of Texas' Week 8 showdown against Kentucky

It has been a fun ride for the Texas Longhorns since they took down archrivals Sooners in the Red River Rivalry last week. Quarterback Arch Manning was the star of the show who passed the vibe check by flexing his golden hat after defeating Brent Venables’ team.

Manning looked extremely different that day in terms of agility, accuracy and playmaking abilities deep inside the opponent's territory. He managed to connect with his receivers and not make too many passovers.

Experts like Jordan Rodgers, who criticized him, once sang praises of him and shared how the passer has improved so far. Aaron Rodgers' brother Jordan revealed that Manning is slowly getting back on track.

Even before the season had begun, there were a lot of expectations and demands for Manning from his fans. His jittery start drew severe criticisms. It reached an extent when Texas fans demanded his benching and coach Steve Sarkisian's dismissal. But not anymore.

“Look, I loved Arch. I think he did a really good job when things broke down, making plays outside the pocket. We saw that last week against Florida, although they took six sacks because play calling was continually trying to hit shots downfield,” Rodgers said on Wednesday's episode of Get Up.

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“His average depth to target against Florida was over 17 yards. Against Oklahoma, under three yards. So I think Sark did a great job of getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and then when they did take the shots,” he added.

Arch Manning has a challenging schedule to navigate in second half of 2025

With seven weeks down the line, Texas is now at 4-2. They lost a crucial game to the Florida Gators and now find themselves on thin ice with little hope of making the playoffs.

The SEC is a highly competitive league and at least 11 games would be deemed necessary for teams to make the playoffs.

However, there's still hope for coach Sarkisian and his men since teams like Kentucky, MS State, Vanderbilt and Georgia are their upcoming opponents.

Texas will wrap up 2025 with a home game against Texas A&M. All the upcoming games are must-wins for Manning & Co.

Edited by Deepesh Nair