Texas dropped to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 after back-to-back upset losses, and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit says the Longhorns must now treat every remaining game as a playoff game with Arch Manning’s job under review.
Saturday’s 27-24 home loss to unranked Florida followed a 27-24 defeat to Oklahoma, and Herbstreit addressed the fallout on his Monday show with former NFL receiver Joey Galloway. “To me, their wiggle room is over,” Herbstreit said.
Kirk Herbstreit on Texas’ wiggle room
Herbstreit has the call for Ole Miss at Texas on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. “I’m going down there Saturday night to call their Ole Miss game,” he said.
Galloway asked whether Texas coach Steve Sarkisian would be willing to bench Manning, and Herbstreit framed the rest of the Longhorns’ season as an elimination bracket.
“There are a few teams whose wiggle room is over, and Texas is in playoff mode for the duration, starting Saturday,” Herbstreit said. “I haven’t looked at the analytics or the spread, but I’m assuming they’re an underdog against Ole Miss. And it’s their schedule, not just Ole Miss. So they are in win-or-go-home mode for the rest of the year.”
He then put the quarterback decision squarely on Sarkisian. “Sark is paid not to try to protect certain players, but to win,” Herbstreit said. “And I don’t know if anybody has a better grasp of that than Sark. He’s trying to be loyal to his quarterback, but at some point it’s over.”
Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) hosts No. 7 Ole Miss and Mississippi State, then visits No. 22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU before hosting Arkansas and closing at Texas A&M on Nov. 27, according to the Longhorns’ schedule. Three of those six opponents are currently ranked.
Could KJ Lacey replace Arch Manning?
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Monday that Texas will give redshirt freshman KJ Lacey Jr. an uptick in first-team reps this week, though Manning still projects as the starter. Herbstreit offered a scouting report on the former Alabama Mr. Football from Saraland.
“His name’s KJ Lacey. Think of Bryce Young. That’s his game, like when he was at Alabama,” Herbstreit said. “And evidently he’s going to get some reps this week with the ones.”
Sarkisian said after the Florida loss that “everything’s going to be evaluated,” and he didn’t fully commit to Manning during his Monday press conference. “Arch can play better for us. He’s our starter. I need to see a better version of Arch Manning,” Sarkisian said.
Lacey is 7-of-8 for 63 yards this season. Herbstreit said later in the show that he’d make the switch if the film supported it. “I love Arch, but if I think KJ Lacey can give me a better chance of winning, I’ve got to try KJ Lacey,” he said.
Texas offensive line under fire
Herbstreit also pointed to problems Manning can’t fix alone. “They’re not great up front, by the way. They can’t run the ball. It puts a lot on Arch,” Herbstreit said. “It’s so weird to see a Sark team with the inability, two years in a row, to run the football, take some of the pressure off, be more balanced and go play-action.”
Florida sacked Manning five times, and Texas failed on two fourth-down tries. The Longhorns finished with 272 total yards and went 2-of-10 on third down, and Manning fumbled on a sack with under two minutes left to end the comeback attempt.
Galloway wasn’t ready to excuse the quarterback. “If Arch was what everyone told us he was, would we be having the same conversation about how we’ve got to find a way to take the pressure off of him?” Galloway said. “We’re not, because honestly, it’s moments.”
Herbstreit added that the defense hasn’t held up its end. “It’s feast or famine. They either make great plays or they give up big plays,” he said.
Ole Miss enters Saturday at 5-1 as the only team in last week’s AP top 10 to win in Week 7.
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