Steve Sarkisian serves reality check to Arch Manning over Texas QB's disastrous performance vs. UTEP despite Longhorns' 27-10 win

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian served a reality check to quarterback Arch Manning after playing poorly in the Longhorns' 27-10 win over UTEP on Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The 51-year-old coach spoke about the sophomore quarterback, seemingly relying on playing athlete football, diverting to the Longhorns' playbook. It caused Sarkisian to share what he feels for the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite.

"I'd let him run around and start playing football. But I feel like he pressed some tonight. He's missing some throws that I feel he's comfortable making," said Sarkisian during the post-game press conference following Texas' win over UTEP. "You start skipping reads, relying on his legs too much. And that's always my caution. When you have a little success with your legs, you start to rely on your legs and then we're out of scheme and just play athlete football," he added. "And athlete football can get you so far, sooner or later that catches up on you too. We've got to get back into believing into the scheme."

Sarkisian felt Manning's struggles are all mental and he needs the quarterback to work on recalibrating and refocusing on the next play after making mistakes.

The sophomore playcaller carried the ball nine times for 51 yards and recorded two rushing touchdowns for the win. Sarkisian felt Manning relied too much on his legs, which led to struggles in his passing game, as he made 11-of-25 attempts for 114 yards. He passed for one touchdown and one interception.

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Texas' defensive line stops UTEP's rushers to ease Arch Manning's poor game

The Texas defensive line clamped down on UTEP's rushing game and forced Miners' quarterback Malachi Nelson to throw it down the field. The Longhorns limited UTEP's rushers to 50 yards in 23 rushing attempts, causing Nelson to work a lot more in his passing.

Texas came in well prepared to prevent the UTEP quarterback from doing damage downfield, catching two interceptions and limiting Nelson to 209 yards — a far cry from his 278-yard, four touchdown effort in the 42-17 win over UT Martin.

The Longhorns' D-line also clamped down on UTEP's third-down efficiency, stopping 11 third-down attempts in 15 total plays. They also stopped three fourth-down attempts for a great night on the field.

Texas hopes Manning will bounce back from his struggles as he faces Sam Houston State on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Edited by Geoff