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For Arch Manning, now is the time to leave it all out on the field. The Texas Longhorns quarterback has spent the past three weeks with uninspired play and having critics questioning if he's been hiding an upper body injury. However, he responded by saying better results are coming from him.
"I know the type of player that I am," Manning said Monday. "I know I'm going to play better and we're going to be better as an offense."
Manning sat and answered another round of questions following last week's win over UTEP. For good reasons too. Many people in and outside of Austin want to know what's going on with the one-time Heisman favorite. He racked up 114 yards with a touchdown and interception vs. the Miners.
This week's contest against Sam Houston will serve as another SEC warmup for Manning and the Horns. But the Bearkats will be looking to upset the No. 8 team in the country. Manning's bad play has prompted questions every week and Texas can't afford another close win. Especially with SEC play on the horizon.
If he struggles again, there will be alarms going off about how the Florida and Oklahoma games will play out. Manning's terrible play started in the season-opening loss against Ohio State and hasn't stopped since. Yes, he had four touchdowns against San Jose State but he also appeared to be injured in the second half. He side-armed some throws and missed open receivers against UTEP, bringing on boos from the crowd.
To put this into perspective, Manning has gone 47-of-85 (55.3%) for 579 passing yards and six touchdowns to three interceptions. The worst completion percentage among all SEC quarterbacks with 60 or more passing attempts.
"It's frustrating because I know I'm better than that," Manning said. "We're going to be better this week and get clicking on offense. I'm excited to get going."
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian asked for patience and defended Manning early-season cold snap.
"Here's a guy who's had an awesome life, the way he's grown up, the people he's been surrounded by," Sarkisian said. "I think you learn a lot about yourself through adversity and overcoming adversity. ... When he gets on the other side of it, I think all of this is going to serve well not only for him, but for us as a team."
No. 8 Texas will look to add another win on the books before conference play. The Longhorns host Sam Houston in Austin on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
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