Texas is 4-0 and the No. 1 team in the country, but I’m still waiting to see the performance that justifies all the Arch Manning hype.
Saturday against Tennessee was supposed to be another opportunity for Manning to make a statement. A ranked opponent, more than 100,000 fans inside Neyland Stadium and the entire country watching.
Instead, we got another pretty average performance.
Manning completed 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in Texas’ 20-17 win. He was also sacked six times and finished with minus-1 rushing yard. University of Texas Athletics
Those numbers aren’t terrible. But that’s exactly the point.
For a quarterback who receives this much hype, “not terrible” isn’t good enough. Texas didn’t win because Manning took over the game. Raleek Brown scored both of Texas’ touchdowns, while the Longhorns defense completely terrorized Tennessee with 10 sacks. University of Texas Athletics
And this isn’t just about Tennessee. Through four games, Manning has thrown for 305 yards against Texas State, 195 against Ohio State, 164 against UTSA and now 201 against Tennessee. FootballDB
Where is the dominant performance against a legitimate opponent?
Manning is obviously talented, and Texas might have the best overall roster in college football. But that’s also why we need to stop automatically giving the quarterback all the credit for Texas being undefeated.
Against Tennessee, the Longhorns needed their defense and running game to escape Knoxville. Manning did enough to help Texas win, but there was nothing about that performance that screamed superstar.
Texas might be No. 1. That doesn’t automatically mean Arch Manning is the No. 1 quarterback. Until he starts dominating these big games, I’m still calling him overrated.
