Quarterback Arch Manning has absorbed plenty of criticism, but Paul Finebaum wants it redirected toward his head coach.
Finebaum, the ESPN analyst, said on “The Matt Barrie Show” that Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian deserves the blame after the unranked Florida Gators won 27-24 in Austin, handing the Longhorns back-to-back defeats.
He didn’t spare Sarkisian’s play-calling, either.
“I have no earthly idea what Steve Sarkisian is doing,” Finebaum said. “I think we all agree he shouldn’t be calling the plays.”
In Finebaum’s view, Sarkisian “has made an absolute mess out of the most talented team in the country.”
Only two weeks earlier, Texas sat at No. 1 without a loss. Oklahoma then took the Red River Rivalry 27-24, and the Florida result gave the program its first two-game skid since 2021, Sarkisian’s first year.
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Texas built a 17-3 second-quarter lead. Florida then rattled off 24 unanswered points behind Tramell Jones Jr., a reserve quarterback starting for the first time in his career.
Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a late touchdown to Cam Coleman, though he carried 10 times for zero yards.
Florida sacked him five times. A strip-sack fumble with 1:58 remaining ended up deciding it.
Finebaum’s sharpest jab targeted what Sarkisian said following the Oklahoma defeat, when the coach suggested a quarterback named Joe Smith would be drawing praise instead of criticism.
“His name is Arch Manning; it always has been,” Finebaum said. “And I’m beginning to wonder whether Arch Manning should even start against Ole Miss.”
Then came a concession: “I know he will.”
“And this is on you, Sarkisian. It’s terrible. It’s embarrassing what you’ve done to Arch Manning. And I wonder if he’s going to regret the day that he went to play for Steve Sarkisian.”
Sarkisian, Texas’ play-caller, spread the blame around. “Was Arch perfect? No. But nobody was perfect on offense today,” he said.
That offense entered the Florida game with the SEC’s worst three-and-out rate, nearly 29%.
Ole Miss comes to Austin next, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and Texas must still travel to Missouri, LSU, and Texas A&M.