Biff Poggi offers his impression of Arch Manning after Citrus Bowl

Outgoing Michigan interim head coach Biff Poggi offered his parting impressions of Arch Manning following the loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl. Manning, who steadily improved as the 2025 season progressed, saved his best for last in the 41-27 win.

Manning was responsible for four total touchdowns, including some back breaking runs that stunned the Michigan defense. Once the Longhorns’ QB got rolling, there wasn’t much the Wolverines could do.

“Oh, yeah. It’s a great question because this is — Steve Sarkisian said this is year three for Arch, and, again, remember, this is year one for Bryce,” Poggi said. “Arch, he is an exceptional player. I mean, he made some throws today that I thought were, like, wow. Then of course, I had no idea he was — when you look at him on the field, he’s big and strong, but I had no idea he was as athletic as he is. He is a force to be reckoned with, but I think Jimmy would be able to answer that better than me.”

Poggi referred to linebacker Jimmy Rolder, who had an up close and personal look at Manning. Simply put, the young QB was “dangerous.”

“I mean, he hit it spot on,” Rolder said of Poggi’s comments on Manning. “Dangerous. Can make every throw. Again, throw with his legs. Sneaky fast. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Coach Biff covered it.”

Manning finished the game 21-of-34 passing for 221 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

If the buzz around Manning was loud going into 2025, the ‘26 season could be deafening. Especially if he continues to play at the level he did in the second half of the year.

“Yeah, I think we have to attack this off-season, getting these new guys, whether it’s the high school guys or portal guys and keep our guys, attack winter workouts and continue to be better leaders and get this thing going,” Manning said. “The standard is the standard at Texas. Got to keep it going and have a good 2026 … I think go back to Coach Sark’s point, just staying the course and continuing to compete. I think we had a month of preparation before this, and getting new guys acclimated, and it was cool to cap it off like the way we did.”