Kirk Herbstreit defends Arch Manning, calls out scrutiny amid Texas win over Oklahoma

No quarterback has had to deal with the kind of pressure that Arch Manning did to start this season at Texas. His family name and connection to former NFL quarterback Peyton and Eli Manning, who are his uncles, put all eyes on him from the moment he arrived on campus as a true freshman in 2023.

When he finally got his chance to take over as starter this season, he entered with as expectations set as high as they could go, with talk of a Heisman Trophy on the table. But when Arch struggled to start the year, the critics were equally loud.

He silenced them Saturday, leading the Longhorns to a 23-6 victory against Oklahoma in the all-important Red River Rivalry game. Arch Manning finished 21-of-27 passing, throwing for 166 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and rushing for 34 yards.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was on the call of the game and showed appreciation for the performance from the young QB. He also acknowledged the mental toughness it must have taken to block out the noise surrounding him and come out to lead his team to the win.

“Quarterbacks, at this level, go through being scrutinized,” Herbstreit said. “This is unprecedented, what I think Arch Manning’s had to deal with, with his uncles, his last name, his grandfather. He didn’t ask for this. But I’ll tell you what he’s shown is a lot of toughness. We talked about (Quintrevion) Wisner showing toughness, how about Arch Manning between the ears, having to deal with toughness?

“With everybody ridiculing him, ‘This guy, he’s not any good,’ everywhere you go. As much as he tries to not hear it, you’re human. You hear it. But I think if I were his dad, I’d be so proud of the way he’s handled it. And like I said earlier, his teammates see that and appreciate his approach. No pointing the finger, taking it even when, maybe he didn’t deserve it, he took it.”

Manning and the Longhorns were coming off of a loss against Florida the week prior in which he threw for a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter. He also had a lackluster performance to open the season against Ohio State that left many doubting his star status.

However, Saturday was a huge step in the right direction and certainly his biggest performance of the season to date. He’ll hope this can be what he needed to start building some momentum as Texas head into a matchup against Kentucky next week.