Arch Manning vs SEC QBs: It's happening

Throughout this year, we’ve highlighted some key stats about Arch Manning as compared to the rest of his SEC quarterbacking counterparts.

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It’s been mostly negative.

The first four games of the year were a disaster. He was near the bottom in every major stat, and it seemed like, even in a down year for SEC quarterbacking, Texas had committed to a player that wasn’t ready and was dealing with a terrible case of the yips.

Then SEC play came around and it got… better, sort of?

Manning played well against Florida, all things considered. It’s one of those games NFL Draft analysts love but fans hate. He made some impeccable plays despite a bad offensive line, but Texas took a loss. Most people look directly at the QB.

He then played a really good game against Oklahoma, operating more as a game manager. He didn’t attempt to throw the ball downfield, but he was extremely efficient with his arm and legs. It was his best game of the year.

Then it was terrible against Kentucky. Most fans would like to forget about that one. He was inaccurate, looked uncomfortable for most of the game, and the Longhorns nearly lost to the worst team in the SEC.

Now, though, Texas has seen its QB play two tremendous games. One was a come-from-behind win in Starkville, where Manning had a few really professional throws and multiple drives that kept Texas in a game they should’ve lost.

Then it happened again on Saturday, taking down the Vanderbilt Commodores with an explosive offensive performance early in the game, where he was extremely efficient in every aspect. Texas’ new offensive system has made the short passing game easier for Manning, while still allowing him to work the intermediate and deep parts of the field when open.

Still, that’s a five-game sample of some varying performances. Florida was good, but he put the ball in harm’s way. Kentucky was terrible, and he didn’t put up many counting stats against Oklahoma. Can you even call him a top-half SEC QB with those stats?

These are the 10 starting QBs of the 10 SEC teams with a pulse this season. Taylen Green is the only bottom-tier QB who’s been interesting, anyway.

What you’re looking at here are stats against Power Four teams since Week 5

Why Week 5?

That’s when most of these teams started playing SEC games. We’re really only missing the Georgia-Tennessee game from this.

Any takeaways?

Ty Simpson, Joey Aguilar and Gunner Stockton are clearly the three best in the conference.

Simpson is the most well-rounded, and it makes sense. Alabama has won some big games, and he has NFL Draft hype. Aguilar has been great, but he’s turnover-prone. Still, he averages 90 more yards between air and ground per game than Stockton. Still, Stockton is the most efficient of the three. Amazing TD/TO ratio and adjusted completion percentage.

But after those three, would anyone be against calling Manning No. 4?

Trinidad Chambliss has been good, especially with his legs, but he is even more inaccurate than Manning and tends to miss some freebies throughout the game.

Marcel Reed is good, but not overly impressive. There’s a similar identity with Diego Pavia.

At this point, Manning has to be seen as a top-half QB in this league. Even if you prefer all the aforementioned QBs and Green, the John Mateer, DJ Lagway and Garrett Nussmeier hype trains are mostly over, even if Oklahoma won at Tennessee.

Manning is top-four in most stats here. What really hurts him is that Big Time Throw over Turnover Worthy Play stat. The problem is that he suffered most of those turnover-worthy throw stats against Florida. Does Manning feel turnover-prone after the last four games? No, he’s actually at a 3-1 ratio since UF. He would be first on this list.

If you really wanted to cherry-pick, we could’ve made this a four-game list and really egged on the Arch hype. But that’s disingenuous, and he did put up a good bit of yardage in that game.

Still, how many SEC QBs are you trading for Manning right now? I’d definitely say Simpson, but that group of 2-7 all have their flaws. Stockton isn’t your typical ‘come from behind to win a game’ QB. Aguilar puts the ball in harm’s way. Chambliss is inaccurate. Reed struggles to really take over games with his arm.

It’s good to be in a spot where we can have these conversations. This is the most confident Texas fans have been all season in their offense, and a lot of that is to do with how well Arch Manning has played.