CBS analyst Bryant McFadden shreds Arch Manning over first-half performance: 'Not even the best college QB in the state'

Texas quarterback Arch Manning was booed by the home fans during his first-half performance against UTEP, with the Longhorns struggling to create distance from the Miners. Manning was having a rough go of it in the passing game.

He finished the first half 5-of-16 passing for 69 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He did run for two scores, but the passing performance was hard to overlook.

At halftime, CBS Sports analyst Bryant McFadden shredded Arch Manning. He opened up:

“He struggled last week against San Jose State,” McFadden said. “Luckily their defense played outstanding football and then he found his stride in the second half. He’s struggling again. So let’s just throw it out there: He’s not that good. Right now. Not saying he won’t be good, not saying he won’t be great. But right now he’s not that good.

“He’s not even the best quarterback in the state of Texas amongst college teams. When you look at some of the other college teams in Texas, there are quite a few quarterbacks that are playing better football than Arch right now.”

The hype for Arch Manning certainly seemed to get ahead of the performance this offseason. Notably, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum likened the Texas quarterback to Tim Tebow in terms of ability and accompanying hype.

Manning hasn’t produced those kind of results just yet, though. Quite the opposite.

“He’s not hurt, he’s just not playing good,” McFadden said. “And this is more of an indictment on the experts or the analysts out there that were saying he is the next great one. He’s the next great player at the quarterback position. How can you make that assessment when he hasn’t been playing like that? He hasn’t been a full-time starter.

“This was all about the bloodline, this was all about the name, the last name that people put these expectations on this kid unfairly and hoping that he can be the greatest quarterback that we’ve seen in the last decade. No, he’s not like that. It takes time.”

McFadden then invoked one of his co-hosts on the set, former Alabama running back Damien Harris. His point for Arch Manning was a strong one.

“The thing about being a backup filling in for a starter, there’s less pressure,” McFadden said. “Damien, did you start Day 1 at Alabama? At one point in time you had to earn that. But before you became a starter you filled in here or there, spot duty. There’s no pressure.

“But now when you’re a starter and they look in that media guide in the locker room, in the stadium, and they see ‘starter,’ your name, people gameplan for you. People attack you differently. There lies pressure. Different pressure than it was when you were just filling in for Quinn Ewers. So every ballgame people are attacking you differently, and it’s just been a lot for him to handle and he has struggled.”