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Texas

Arch Manning battles in tough road loss against Florida

by: Evan Vieth10/05/25
Arch Manning
Arch Manning (Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)

In a game where Texas running backs totaled just 15 rushing yards, committed far more penalties than their opponent, and turned the ball over twice against a team they were favored to beat, it’s hard to come up with any sort of positive take surrounding the offense.

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The line is downright woeful—we now know that. Texas doesn’t have the running back talent to overcome that in the ground game. We also know that. But if there’s anything you can take away from this game, it’s that Arch Manning is not a quitter.

“I thought he competed his heart out,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I’m proud of his competitive spirit. Made some big-time plays for us. I’m sure there are going to be a few other plays he’d love to have back, but don’t question his heart at all. He battled tonight.”

Yes, if you were to purely look at Manning’s stat line at the end of the game, you would not be impressed: 16-of-29 passing for 263 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. From a baseline, you see a losing quarterback who completed just 55% of his passes and turned the ball over twice.

But Manning was really the only player on this Longhorns team who gave fans any hope in this game. While his offensive line crumbled at the hands of the Gators’ pass rush and run defense, Manning continued to find ways to improvise and make plays with his legs.

His best pass came deep in the third quarter. Down by 15, the Longhorns had shown little reason for hope all game. Despite a penalty and zero rushing yards on the drive, Manning had taken the team 37 yards into Florida territory.

On first down, Manning dropped back, stepped up past the pressure, and delivered a strike down the field to a streaking Ryan Wingo, who hauled in the pass for a 38-yard touchdown. All of a sudden, Texas was down by just eight.

But just like that, his defense let him down, falling and missing tackles as a true freshman ran for a 55-yard touchdown.

Still battling, Manning marched the team another 61 yards down the field in an attempt at another scoring drive. But two false starts from Nick Brooks put Texas in 2nd-and-19, and Manning forced a pass that led to an interception.

He did it again the next drive, but it felt mostly out of desperation. The Longhorns needed points fast, and Manning was looking for any explosive play he could find. Just like that, a one-score game had been flipped on its head yet again. Two turnovers, a Florida score, and seven minutes of game time had basically put it back out of reach.

And yet, with two interceptions in two straight drives and the game all but over, Manning continued to fight. He found 68 yards in two plays through his play creation that got Texas within a score of the Gators. With three minutes left in the game, the Longhorns had suddenly found 21 points.

But Florida’s offense got the best of the Longhorns’ defense for most of the night, and Manning, inevitably, wasn’t perfect. The final drive of the game was poorly executed, taking two sacks that ran down a minute of game time before the clock hit zero.

“As much as losses sting your heart, this one’s going to hurt. It’s always something to learn from,” Manning said. “You win some and then you learn some. So you’ve got to learn from this and get better.”

Manning had his flaws—sack avoidance, especially on that last drive, was at times problematic. He missed a few open receivers and threw some passes into tight coverage.

It was far from his best game with the Longhorns, but it’s clear that his play evolved for the better as the game went on.

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