One week removed from a concussion, Arch Manning continues strong stretch since receiving 'flop' label

Arch Manning sustained a concussion in overtime of the Longhorns’ win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs last week, putting his status for the following game against Vanderbilt in jeopardy. He had to clear concussion protocol in order to play against the No. 9 Commodores and be able to keep No. 20 Texas’ College Football Playoff hopes alive.

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When did he think he would be able to suit up?

“I think I thought that on Sunday,” Manning said.

Manning said he felt good since his injury in Starkville. He was listed as questionable on Thursday night in the SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report but was not on it Friday night, indicating he was going to play.

On Saturday, he played possibly his best game as a Longhorn.

“Maybe the concussion helped,” Manning joked.

Manning was 25-for-33 for 328 yards and three touchdowns. One was a 75-yarder on a swing pass to Ryan Wingo on the very first play of the game that looked a lot like the offensive opener for the Longhorns last week. One was to CJ Baxter on a rollout later in the first quarter. The third, his final pass of the night, was to Emmett Mosley V in the fourth quarter. It required Manning to stand in and take a vicious hit. He did that as he completed the pass to his wide open target.

Wideeeeee open 🎯 pic.twitter.com/lCwIHwXsT3

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) November 1, 2025

His yards per attempt was an absurd 9.9. Take away the 75-yarder to Wingo and he still posted a sturdy 7.9 yards per attempt. Manning spread the ball out to 10 different receivers for his 25 completions. He also rushed the ball just once for four yards. He did not take a sack.

His accuracy was phenomenal. His on-target throw percentage will likely approach his career best. His completion percentage? 76 percent. The catch percentage for Texas receivers? 76 percent. Finding an incompletion and putting it at the feet of Manning would prove to be a difficult task.

Manning received what Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian described as “the best protection he’s gotten all year.” The Longhorns put Trevor Goosby–Cole Hutson–Connor Robertson–DJ Campbell–Brandon Baker on the field as their O-line group and were charged with just three QB hurries.

“It allowed him to get through reads,” Sarkisian said. “When you can get to your second and third reads in a progression, that means your protection is pretty good.”

Said Manning, “I think it starts with the O-line. They played really well today. Receivers made plays. That makes it a little easier on me.”

Over the course of the last four games, a sample size that comes after he was described as a flop by The Athletic, Manning is 87-for-133 (65%) for 972 yards and seven touchdowns to just one interception. He’s also rushed for a touchdown.

In the course of that timeframe, Sarkisian has seen his team mature plenty. But that maturation is most evident in the play of No. 16.

“I do think he’s grown up,” Sarkisian said. “He just looks so much more mature. He looks so much more poised. He looks so much more confident. He’s got a lot more trust in the guys around him.”

Added Manning, “Offense is starting to click a little bit. We’ve got to continue to press and finish games. Proud of the way we played today.”

To be described as a flop brought what seemed like even more attention on Manning, then his concussion put every eye in the SEC world on him as they waited to see what description was by his name on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights on the SEC injury report.

So too did getting pulled over this week in the midst of all that buzz. Manning said he ran a red light and was pulled over by UTPD. Someone captured the image and blasted it to social media.

Whether it’s a traffic ticket or SEC defenses, Manning has handled it well over the course of the past few weeks and is turning in performances that have been critical to Texas wins. His strong showing on Saturday to boost Texas to 7-2 and 4-1 in the SEC was just another example of that growth.

“Very proud of him,” Sarkisian said. “It’s been a long year. He’s been through a lot. For him to have some of the successes he’s having right now, he deserves it.”