Steve Sarkisian Says Arch Manning Is Receiving Criticism for 1 Big Reason

The Texas Longhorns are coming off a brutal 27-24 upset to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.

The Longhorns in general are under scrutiny for the loss, but quarterback Arch Manning in particular is receiving a lot of criticism. The fourth-year quarterback threw two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter, which led to his team's loss. The first interception resulted in a pick-six, and the second one set Oklahoma up for a game-winning field goal.

Despite his on-field struggles, Manning's coach Steve Sarkisian had his back when speaking to media on Monday. Sarkisian believes Manning is receiving more hate than a normal college football player would solely because of the name he dons on the back of his jersey. Manning is the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning.

“I think if you took the name off the back of his jersey and you said, ‘Here’s Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas and here’s a guy who’s beaten four Top-10 ranked teams in his last 13 starts,’ we’d be praising the guy," Sarkisian said. "But the expectations are high for him. He understands that. The expectations are high for all of us. We’ve got to put our nose back to the grind and get back to work.”

Sarkisian makes a great point. There's an elevated amount of pressure on Manning because of his family history in football. Manning has had lots of eyes on him since he was playing in high school. Of course now that Texas was ranked No. 1 and he's seen as an option for the No. 1 pick of the 2027 NFL draft, there's even more expectations placed on the quarterback.

Manning didn't play horribly on Saturday, as he completed 19-of-31 passes for 260 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Sarkisian thinks there's other things Texas needs to fix rather than just Manning's struggles.

"I thought there was a level of confidence, consistency, and rhythm he was in when he was throwing the ball," Sarkisian said. "We've got to continue to run the ball better, so it's not all on his shoulders."

Manning is aware of the scrutiny he's facing, but he doesn't want to let it impact his performances on the field.

"It's not fun when it's happening but there's only one way to respond," Manning said on Monday. "You can let it linger and let it affect the next week, or you can bounce it back. So you have one choice."

Manning and the Longhorns will have the opportunity to redeem themselves on Saturday against Florida, who are coming off two-straight losses.