Steve Sarkisian could face college football's hardest call as Arch Manning invokes much higher stakes
I don’t imagine Steve Sarkisian thought, three months ago at SEC Media Days, that Texas’ 2026 season would hinge on one October game amid growing concerns about Arch Manning’s struggles on offense.
At the time, Sarkisian was discussing the Longhorns’ need to break through the College Football Playoff semifinals. Now, the conversation surrounding Texas centers on whether Arch Manning can make it through Saturday night’s showdown against Ole Miss without Sarkisian being forced to turn to backup KJ Lacey.
"He's very comfortable with who he is. He's not trying to be something that he's not," Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days about Manning.
Unfortunately for those that have rooting interest on 'Forty Acres' in the football program, we have reached the point where this has become a must-win game against Ole Miss, for a Longhorns team that continues to struggle on offense without many answers on how to fix it, besides letting Arch "rip it."
Looking back to those conversations in Tampa before the season started, Arch Manning is now trying to be something he's not by taking on an "edgy" mindset with his perceived back against the wall.
Or maybe it's the opposite. Has Manning always been a young man that carried an edge about him, until Sarkisian tamed him?
Either way, Steve Sarkisian has noticed something different about his quarterback this week, which also comes at a time of heightened criticism towards the Texas offense.
"I don’t know if we lost him. We created this. We did. All of us. Y’all included. Me. The whole thing, right. Everybody on ESPN, we’ve created this. And so we’ll see what comes out of it," Sarkisian said about Manning's persona this week.
A loss to the Rebels inside DKR Stadium on Saturday would all but seal the fate of this Texas team that has spent over $40 million in hopes of contending for a national championship this season.
Instead, the situation in Austin has taken a dramatic turn over the past three weeks.
Consecutive losses to unranked opponents — including a debacle against Florida — have forced staffers inside the football facility to operate with a sense of urgency. Meanwhile, those outside the program are wondering whether Manning and Sarkisian can finally produce a performance that matches the hype.
Yes, the fourth-quarter comeback win against Ohio State still carries weight in terms of upcoming CFP rankings.
But, with the subdued offensive numbers that Sarkisian and Arch Manning have produced over the past month, the pressure has now reached a fever pitch within the Texas fan base.
What does the Longhorns quarterback do with the pressure mounting on this offense to finally break through the fourth wall with enough firepower to keep up with an team like Ole Miss?
"Just letting it rip," Arch Manning said this week. "Our backs are against the wall right now, and there's no place I'd rather be. Just let her rip. I'm going to die on the hill of, I'm letting it rip."
No more thinking, just doing. That's the plan for a Texas offense that should be three steps ahead of its current state, if you factor in the amount of talent that takes the field on every drive.
STEVE SARKISIAN’S ‘JOE SMITH’ ARGUMENT FOR ARCH MANNING IS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE FOR AN AVERAGE QB
The problem for this offense doesn’t just solely fall at the hands of Arch Manning, as Sarkisian has to rightfully take plenty of the blame. This scheme feels bland, compared to what it might actually look like within the playbook.
"I think there’s no doubt about it, Arch can play better for us," Sarkisian said on Monday. "He’s our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team right now, but we need to see a better version of him this week."
But, what if Manning is just an average quarterback with a last name that is a cornerstone of football?
There's nothing wrong with that, and the conversation around Arch is warranted based off the perceived talent that is within in. At the end of the day, though, the only thing we can rely on is what we see on a weekly basis out of Texas...
Appearing on the Craig Carton show this week, former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf had a blunt answer regarding what he has seen from Arch Manning this season and whether he should return for another year of college ball.
"I think Texas is a great spot for him because the talent is so rich and they're going to have a great football team," Leaf mentioned. But listen, he's an average college quarterback. Even more so because of how talented his teammates are. It doesn’t mean he's bad.
"Does he have the DNA to become better and continue to get better? Of course he does. It would such a mistake for someone to draft him high. If another year allows him to get better and improve, then do it..."
Now comes the biggest test of the Sarkisian-Manning era at Texas.
A showdown with Ole Miss that will determine whether we are still talking about the Longhorns as a legit contender for the college football playoff once the first rankings are announced in just a few weeks.
And they will have to do it against a Pete Golding defense that is looking to stay on its own path towards the postseason behind an offense that actually seems to have its stuff together behind Trinidad Chambliss.
There is no way we will see another weekend of chaos like what we witnessed last Saturday, right?
If you haven’t figured it out by now, parity has finally wreaked havoc on a sport that is filled with $35 to $45 million rosters.
And sometimes, it just comes down to a situation not working out. For instance, I don't imagine folks in Ann Arbor would be wondering why Michigan would be forced to bench a quarterback it signed out of high school with a contract worth millions.
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But, Bryce Underwood wasn’t cutting it, so now the Wolverines turn to freshman Tommy Carr for a showdown against No. 6 Indiana that could ultimately be a trap for a Hoosiers team coming off a close loss to Ohio State.
Is there an upset brewing in Michigan? Based off what we have seen this season around college football, nothing is off the table.
There might even come a time on Saturday when the Wolverines have to give Underwood the ball back, if the Carr experiment doesn’t come to fruition as the coaching staff is hoping.
Either way, the expensive marriage between Michigan and Bryce Underwood feels as though it coming to an end in Ann Arbor, with a contract clause that will allow the Wolverines to go their separate way following the 2026 season without financial penalty.
Unfortunately, though, this is the gamble you take on a high school quarterback that shows a lot of potential, but there is zero evidence to show that they will be successful at the collegiate level.
In a way, it's as if worlds are colliding between the Texas and Michigan football programs in terms of quarterbacks.
A lot of promise. A lot of money spent on making sure they compete for a title. But two programs living on different spectrums of chaos this season.
In other words, college football in 2026.