"Stop playing": Shannon Sharpe issues strong message to Arch Manning loyalists after Texas QB fumbles against UTEP

Arch Manning’s start to the 2025 season has been a complete disaster, especially after the opening game against Ryan Day's Ohio State. Even though Texas won the next two games, Manning’s individual performance has been quite disappointing. Last weekend, they hosted the UTEP Miners at home and finished with a commanding victory (27-10). It was the Texas defense that dominated throughout the game and filled the void whenever the offense failed to run the ball.

By the end of the first half, Manning was just 5 for 16 and could not complete even half of his passes. He was booed by his own fans at home. Reacting to the whole scenario, former NFL superstar Shannon Sharpe dropped critical comments about the passer. He claimed that if it were not for his last name, the Texas QB couldn't have received so much attention.

The veteran star was speaking to Chad Johnson on Monday night’s episode of Night Cap, where they discussed the entire game analysis and gave their reaction.

“I have a question. The most popular guy on the team is the backup quarterback. Especially if it were Q. He is terrible. He terrible man. Put it Arch. There you go,” Sharpe sarcastically said, recalling the dilemma of fans last season, where Manning was considered superior to Quinn Ewers.

Sharpe's co-panelist Johnson also joined the conversation and dropped his true reaction to the Arch Manning blunder.

“I mean, listen, listen. I don't know what's going on over there. They need to play to his strengths or something. Maybe there's certain things that he's not good at and they can, man, look here,” Johnson said. “You wouldn't even have these expectations if his last name wasn't what it was. So, stop playing,” Sharpe doubled down on his sarcasm.

Arch Manning responds to his terrible performance against UTEP

After the game, the Texas QB had a brief interaction with the reporters. He opened up about his mistakes and claimed that he has a lot of work to do and he was better than that.

“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. All my life I've been an accurate passer. I've just got to get back to it,” Manning said via ESPN.

Next weekend, the Longhorns will play Sam Houston at home. In order to keep the payoff hopes alive, Manning will have to win almost all games in the coming weekends. At least 11+ wins are necessary to make the 12-team bracket as an SEC team.

Edited by Deepesh Nair