Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway discuss if Texas could bench Arch Manning

The Texas Longhorns have seen their season go sideways quickly. Now unranked and seemingly on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff discussion, something needs to change, and many are looking at quarterback Arch Manning.

Analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway would discuss the possibility of benching Manning on Nonstop. However, that went beyond what the right choice for Steve Sarkisian is. Joey Galloway wondered if, in the modern era, it was even possible to bench a quarterback like Manning.

“Let me ask you a question,” Joey Galloway said. “And this question is not would you or should Sark. But, in today’s world, with NIL, transfer portal, the money, all these things, could you bench Arch Manning? Like, is it even a possibility with the fallout that comes from that? Like, could you bench him?”

Arch Manning, of course, came into the season with Heisman level expectations and a last name that has always equated to success at the quarterback position. With that, he’s also making plenty in NIL. So, for Kirk Herbstreit, it’s not a simple question.

“I don’t know,” Herbstreit said. “I saw Matthew Caldwell come in and throw an absolute strike when he came in when Arch Manning’s helmet came off. He came in and just threw a laser. I was like, ‘Could he throw one more ball… Do you think it’s just Arch? You just went over the offensive line, the running game, the defense. I think it’s the great mystery of 2025. Why isn’t Texas playing better?”

This season, Arch Manning is completing 60 percent of his passes for 1,151 yards and 11 touchdowns to five interceptions. He’s also rushing for 160 yards and another five touchdowns. However, he’s coming off a two interception game against Florida and has seemingly been unable to elevate that offense. Of course, he’s not Texas’ only issue either.

“It’s a combination of things, but it’s all bad. Arch is just the tip of the spear. Whatever you want to call it. He’s the focal point. So, you watch it and you show some of those throws. The interceptions are bad. Even the touchdowns, even the first touchdown when he hits the guy in the foot. I looked at it. He takes seven extra steps. Rolls out, sees the running back. From that moment, I slowed it down and counted. Seven more steps. Even this one here [playing on screen], the linebacker is standing right there, and he throws it to the guy behind him. So, again, it’s not all him,” Galloway said.

“But, at the same time, he’s not playing well and in today’s world, I don’t know if you bench a guy now, the guy’s leaving. If you bench a guy now, he’s getting paid a ton of money by somebody. So, now you’ve got a lot of questions to answer because they’re leaving. They’re not hanging around. I don’t know that you can bench a guy in today’s world.”

Ultimately, given his familial background, Kirk Herbstreit thinks if anyone is bound to handle a benching well, it’s Arch Manning. At the same time, that doesn’t mean it’s coming any time soon.

“It’s a fair question,” Herbstreit said. “I think of all the guys you could bench, he’d probably handle it the best. Probably because of his family and his background. It’s like, if you make that decision, we’ve got to live by it and move on. I don’t know. I think there’s — I have a lot of respect for Sark. We all do. I think Sark’s a great coach. I think that’s why this whole thing is — this is, by the way, a team that has gone back-to-back Playoffs. They lost to Washington two years ago. Lost to Ohio State a year ago. I think a lot of people thought, okay, quote-unquote, ‘Finally, got rid of Quinn Ewers. Now we’ve got Arch. Now we go. I think everybody’s, you know, if you’re a Texas fan, you’re scratching your head because Arch is a big part of it.”

For the time being, it’s still just a discussion if Steve Sarkisian and Texas would make a change at quarterback. In the meantime, their focus is, undoubtedly, going to be on getting the most that they possibly can out of their starting quarterback.