"Arch Manning is not what anybody thought he was gonna be" CFB insider issues critical assessment of Texas QB over disappointing performance

The Texas Longhorns won their third game of the season against an unranked UTEP at home on Saturday. It was a 27-10 win, but fans were not impressed with Arch Manning and his overall stats by the end of the game. He fumbled big time with inaccurate throws and failed attempts to rush the ball, only to throw interceptions and get picked up towards the end zone.

All in all, Manning crumbled with pressure and struggled to live up to the hype. According to CFB analyst Damien Harris, who was speaking on the pregame show this Saturday, Manning is no longer a legit Heisman contender. All the preseason hype and expectations proved to be wrong.

“Arch Manning is not what anybody thought he was gonna be. I was one of those guys that stood up and said,’I think Arch Manning is going to be as good as the advertising’. If he's close, that'll be good enough. Well, he's been far below that. He's been lower than the expectation of even the people who thought he wouldn't be that good,” Harris said of the Texas QB on Saturday.

The analyst also mentioned that it is the quarterbacks who are supposed to be the backbone of the team. They are often looked up to by the players on the field, and a QB can't afford to look weak.

“They're supposed to be successful. They're supposed to be our heavy hitters, plays that we know we're going to have success on. But again, every time we see Texas play, they look slow on offense, they look sluggish. I know there's a conversation about his Arch Manning, hurt or not, and to that, I will just say where there is smoke, there's fire,” he added.

Arch Manning vents frustration despite big win over UTEP

Overall it was the defense that ultimately helped the Longhorns take the game home. They managed to stop the UTEP defense for just 259 yards and foiled their attempts to reach the endzone. Manning who was running the offense, could not even finish half of his throws with just 11 of 25 completions.

In the postgame press conference, the QB admitted his mistakes and claimed that he got to be a better player when he was in the pocket.

“I’ve got to play better. A lot of quarterbacks, a lot of players, want to be great. I know I’m better than this,” Manning said on Saturday.

Texas will play Sam Houston at home next weekend. No doubt, Texas are clear favorites entering the field, but Manning will have to buckle up his playing style and accuracy so that he doesn't get booed by his own fans at his home stadium.

Edited by Deepesh Nair