Texas entered the 2026 college football season as one of the most popular championship picks, and the Longhorns looked well on their way after a stunning comeback win over Ohio State in Week 2. That win pushed them to No. 1 in the AP poll.
But the Longhorns suffered a brutal defeat last week, falling 27-24 to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, dropping them to No. 7 in the rankings and igniting more debate about whether Texas can truly compete for a national title with Arch Manning under center.
Through five games, Manning has completed 63% of his passes for 1,122 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions, along with just 102 rushing yards. Against Oklahoma, he threw three touchdown passes but also committed two costly fourth-quarter interceptions that cost them the game.
Texas is still 4-1, but its offense hasn't been nearly consistent enough, and they need to turn things around soon to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation. Saturday's game against Florida will be a big opportunity for Manning to respond to the criticism.
However, despite Manning's struggles, he's still helping lead Texas in one category, as the Longhorns remain the most-watched team in college football, averaging 9.253 million viewers per game through Week 5, according to Nielsen data compiled by On3.
On3's Nick Schultz notes that the win over Ohio State and their dramatic loss to Oklahoma are the biggest drivers, each being ranked inside the top 5 most-watched games this season.
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Texas leads the rankings by a significant margin, ahead of Wisconsin (7.421 million), Ohio State (6.720 million), Georgia (6.372 million), and Oklahoma (6.274 million). These numbers measure average viewership across national televised networks, including ABC, ESPN, FOX, NBC, and CBS. They don't, however, include Big Ten Network broadcasts, regionalized or partial telecasts, meaning that the actual number of viewers is likely much higher.
This isn't entirely a win for the Longhorns, though, because what comes with more eyes is even more pressure to perform. Texas has one of the biggest platforms in the sport, and every performance will be heavily scrutinized.
The ratings don't prove that everybody is tuning in specifically to watch Manning, but they show that people remain interested even as he continues to struggle. The issue for Manning now is that if he continues to make costly mistakes, the spotlight will only grow stronger, and so will the criticism.
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