The Texas Longhorns dropped their second straight game on Saturday, falling 27-24 to the Florida Gators at home. Paul Finebaum had already been critical of quarterback Arch Manning after last week’s loss to Oklahoma, but now he’s turning his attention to head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Finebaum blasted the “absolute arrogance” of Sarkisian on Sunday, saying that he blames the Texas head coach “for every aspect” of the team’s struggles. He went as far as to say that it’s “embarrassing” what Sarkisian has done to Manning as the Texas coach is seemingly considering benching Manning.
‘Not the Elite Player’
Texas looked like the national title favorite everyone expected them to be after Manning led a comeback win over Ohio State last month, and the Longhorns rode a No. 1 ranking into the Red River Rivalry. But Manning threw two late interceptions in the loss to Oklahoma, and Finebaum didn’t hold back afterward.
“We showed arrogance in believing that Arch Manning can do anything. And he almost did, except he finally got in the way of himself,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show, via Awful Announcing.
“I came away thinking, I don’t know what this guy’s going to do. Because he is not the elite player that we all tried to make him out to be,” Finebaum added. “He can be great in moments, as we saw near the end of the game, as he threw that great play that set up the touchdown, but he can just be downright stupid in others.”
Sarkisian pushed back on the criticism of Manning during his press conference the following Monday.
“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, 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 last week.
‘Absolute Arrogance’
Things didn’t get any better for Texas on Saturday. The Longhorns took a 17-10 lead into halftime, but Florida rallied in the second half, and Manning lost a fumble on Texas’ final drive to seal the loss. Manning finished 14-of-20 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown, and he had zero rushing yards on 10 carries.
Needless to say, Finebaum hadn’t forgotten about Sarkisian’s “Joe Smith” comments.
“What a disaster. The absolute arrogance of [Steve] Sarkisian to crack back at people like me and others with the idiotic take of the year that if his [Manning’s] name was Joe Smith, you would be praising him,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show, via Awful Announcing. “I’m beginning to wonder if Arch Manning should even start. I know he will, and he’s capable of leading them to a win, but I blame Sarkisian for every aspect of this.”
“I think he showed yesterday what he is capable of,” Finebaum said of Manning. “I wish I could say the same thing about Steve Sarkisian, someone I’ve always liked and respected. And until last week called an elite play caller. He’s not.”
Finebaum laid into Sarkisian, suggesting that he should no longer call plays for the Longhorns.
“I have no earthly idea what Steve Sarkisian is doing. I think we all agree he shouldn’t be calling the plays,” Finebaum said. “There’s too many other things going on in that sideline that are distracting, and he has made an absolute mess out of the most talented team in the country.”
Finebaum then wondered if Manning will eventually regret choosing Texas.
“And I’m not in that locker room, and I’m not on that practice field. All I can do is that I watch the games like you do, and the rest of America. And this is on you, Sarkisian,” Finebaum said. “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.”
The 4-2 Longhorns host Ole Miss next Saturday. Clearly, another loss would only turn up the heat on Sarkisian.
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