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Could there be a change coming at quarterback in Texas?
Coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t make any decisions but said Saturday he’s going to be looking at everything after the Longhorns’ second straight loss to an unranked opponent.
Sarkisian was pressed about potentially benching starter Arch Manning during a 27-24 home defeat at the hands of Florida, and while he didn’t answer the question directly, he did say he’s going to examine the overall picture of the offense.
“I just felt like we didn’t … we didn’t play good offensive football, and we’re not playing good offensive football right now,” Sarkisian told reporters. “So everything is going to be evaluated.”
“Everything means everything,” Sarkisian added.
Texas, which entered last weekend as the No. 1 team in the nation, stumbled in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma when Manning tossed two interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s loss to the Gators didn’t quell the questions about Manning, who came into the season as a Heisman Trophy hopeful and a presumptive top-five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards — an average of 8.7 yards per completion. The Gators entered the game with the eighth-worst passing defense in all of college football at 268.7 yards allowed per game.
Manning’s 19.9 QBR Saturday is his lowest in any game since taking over the starting job last season.
After Manning led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to put Texas down three, the Longhorns defense got a stop to set up the offense with a chance to win or tie it with 2:27 left.
But on the second play, Manning was sacked and fumbled the ball. Florida then picked up a first down and iced the game.
“Everybody was taking turns, it would be easy for me to say ‘Hey, Arch was the problem today,'” Sarkisian said. “Was Arch perfect? No. But nobody was perfect on offense today. We took turns today. And that’s where I have to look at every aspect of what we’re doing. … If it was one person, it would be easy to change one guy, everything’s going to be great. I don’t think that that was all the issue today.
“Could he have been better? No doubt about it. There’s some other issues that need to be addressed.”