Texas quarterback Arch Manning ‘was’ a Heisman hopeful, but oh boy… The once-popular favorite to win the Natty this year has dropped straight down to No. 8 after Week 3. He was even a topper in 2026 mock drafts. But now? The QB ended up getting booed by his own crowd, at his own home, that too when Texas registered a win against UTEP. Manning is yet to begin conference play, but he’s already occupying the bottom ranges in SEC QB stats. At this point, he has to take his fair share of the blame when it comes to bad turnouts from the Longhorns’ offense. But Steve Sarkisian should be looking at ways to help develop Manning’s supporting cast, and here’s where Nick Saban comes in.
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“I don’t think Texas has been able to run the ball very consistently, you know, which is going to put you in a lot of bad down on distance situations. So that’s going to put more pressure on the quarterback because it’s an advantage for the defense,” Saban said in a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. Texas is currently just 4.4 yards per rush, and it also doesn’t have star RB CJ Baxter to lead the charge. In theory, a strong rushing attack should take off some pressure from Manning, who gets to have more space opened up. Manning doesn’t have a weak outfield or poor runners. He has the support he needs, but is still struggling to be comfortable with them.
“Texas hasn’t been able to run the ball very consistently & that’s not gonna help the QB..
When we had a player that was struggling I always wanted to be as technical as I could be..
I wanted players to see if they got things right we could have success” ~ Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/xwHHYJbs1U
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 19, 2025
“When we had a player that was struggling, you know, or when we lost, you know, I always wanted to be the most technical that I could be,” Saban added more in his advice for the troubled Sarkisian. “[The] players could actually see if I just did this correctly, we could have success, you know, rather than putting a lot of pressure on them to get it right,” he said in continuation. Manning has admitted that a part of his struggles comes from the mental aspect of the game. Ever since his debut against Ohio State, the QB seems to be rattled on the field. Manning threw 10 incomplete passes against UTEP – that has to be something he takes the blame for. He already ranks the 15th best in the SEC when it comes to pass completion percentage (55.3%).
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There are so many layers to go through when it comes to Arch Manning’s troubles this season. It’s easy for fans to rightfully point fingers at him when his performance isn’t up to the mark. But maybe the onus is on the community too, who have given him all that pressure and expectation to match up to.
Nick Saban talks about how lofty expectations are impacting Arch Manning’s career
The entire football community thought the next torchbearer of the Manning name would prove to be the same phenom that his predecessors were. But that’s what pre-game hype does. Nick Saban brought this issue to light. “Nobody has created greater expectations for anybody than what we’ve all created for Arch Manning,” he told Pat McAfee. “I think that creates a lot of anxiety with the players. And I think the anxiety really hurts their development,” Saban added.
Fans fought for Manning to get a starting role after Quinn Ewers owned that post a year ago. Well, they’ve got what they wanted. Before the season, Manning was expected to be sublime, now that he’s going to have the stage all for himself. But after disappointing them so much, there are talks of Manning being revealed of his duties. However, Saban is still willing to take a risky shot at his future. “You only bench a guy when you feel like he’s not committed to doing things the way you want him to do it. Or what he’s doing is really having a tremendous adverse [effect] on the team from an attitude standpoint, or something like that,” he said of the QB’s state right now.
Steve Sarkisian has got to think of a way to get Manning more comfortable in his new role. Yes, the QB has very much had the time to be so before the season. But clearly, something terrible is amiss with Arch Manning and Texas football. Again, the Longhorns are yet to begin SEC play, and due to the disappointment till now, it seems like an uphill journey from here. Sarkisian has to get his star to shine to help the program get out of this slump.
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Rajdeep Paul