Published October 17, 2026 03:22 PM
Formerly No. 1 Texas lost its second straight game on Saturday, and it was a particularly rough day for the Longhorns’ two highest-profile 2027 NFL draft prospects.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who until recently was the betting favorite to go first overall in next year’s draft, had another bad game. Manning had been up and down throughout, but when Texas got the ball back down by three with two and a half minutes to play, it looked like an opportunity for Manning to engineer a great comeback. Instead, Manning was sacked and fumbled, Florida recovered, and that was that. Florida won, 27-24.
The other top draft prospect on the Longhorns, Texas pass rusher Colin Simmons, the NCAA leader in sacks and a potential Top 5 pick in 2027, was carted off with a left leg injury in the fourth quarter.
Manning has been known to make big plays with his legs at times, but he couldn’t do that today against Florida. In one particularly rough sequence, Manning attempted to run for a first down on third-and-1 but lost a yard. Texas then went for it on fourth-and-2, Manning again tried to run, and he again was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs. He also repeatedly failed to escape pass pressure.
Florida running back Jadan Baugh, considered by some the best running back prospect in the 2027 draft class, scored the fourth-quarter winning touchdown for the Gators. He finished with 25 carries for 91 yards.
But the story of the game will be Manning, who has failed to live up to the hype. This was an ugly performance, following an ugly performance in last week’s loss to Oklahoma, and it’s fair to question whether Manning is a future NFL star, or whether he just shares the same last name as three past NFL stars.