The Reheat: UTEP - Fear, Frustration and Arch Manning questions

Welcome to The Reheat, a weekly recap of the previous day’s game, just popped out of the microwave. Look for it every Sunday, rain or shine.

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Yesterday was a day filled with fear for the Texas fan.

But I couldn’t succumb to any of those thoughts or anxieties. I was like a high school kid awkwardly trying to hide how many Keystone Lights they’d consumed in front of their parents. During the run of incompletions, offensive woes, and amidst the chorus of boos, I just gulped and typed away. It was the first time I’d ever covered a Longhorn game in an official capacity. And the press box isn’t a place for an existential crisis. Nor is a postgame press conference just feet away from Steve Sarkisian or Arch Manning. They probably wouldn’t like seeing someone tear their robes in grief-filled agony.

So I kept it all in, despite the texts I was getting…

“Arch is f###ing broken. I am MENTAL right now!”
“Do we suck? Yep we suck.”
“Are we Iowa?”
“The wind is completely gone from my sails.”

Between the message board and X filled calls for Manning to be benched, the questioning of the entire Sarkisian program and the predictions this is now a six-loss team, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a fanbase so miserable after a win. There are only a few losses that even come close to just how down Longhorn fans are right now. When you have a friend texting you that it’s the worst passing performance they’ve ever seen at Texas—and they’ve missed one home game since 1976—things are bleak. It’s all due to the precipitous drop from the high point that was our preseason expectations.

But as we know, fans (like me) are fickle and prone to hyperbole. Our knee-jerk negative reactions are usually as wrong as our sunshine pumping. So let’s look at a couple of the most common questions Longhorn fans are wrestling with today, as I start to come down from the neutrality of the press room and process these fears myself.

Is Arch Manning hurt, bad, or figuring things out?

Manning isn’t hurt. Full stop. The quarterback I saw at postgame availability last night wasn’t injured. If he was, there would have been an element of him letting himself off the hook. He was miserable because of how he played. “I know I’m better than this…I’m just frustrated, I probably won’t sleep tonight.”

A lot of fans are trying to reconcile the player they saw in three games last season with the one they’ve seen the first three games of 2025. The disparity gives way to conspiracy theories about injuries or the yips. And even though I’m not a doctor or a shrink, what I know about those two ailments is they don’t only show up half the time. You can’t have the yips on “some” of your throws.

Steve Sarkisian compared Arch’s struggles to a golfer struggling with their swing—too sped up on the backswing, too slow while trying to make contact. Most of us should be able to relate to that.

In the same way the tape from this season isn’t hiding the fact Arch is struggling, the film from last year isn’t lying either. Arch didn’t forget how to play quarterback, nor did Steve Sarkisian lose the ability to coach one. Athletes have low points, pits of personal and professional despair just like real people.

I wrote yesterday that it was most certainly the low point of Arch Manning’s football career. Longhorn fans had a front-row seat to him cracking under the weight of his name’s expectations, external pressure, plus Red Bull and Warby Parker. It’s painful to watch. But I’m choosing to trust Arch’s pedigree, the intel, lean on history: quarterbacks have moments where they look lost and broken. And that’s when they can start to build and grow. 

Steve Sarkisian brought up a Rick Barry quote last night in reference to the offense and Manning: “I always told my teammates, ‘When I’m 0-for-10, look out, because I’m due.’”

—

Should I adjust my expectations for the season?

If your expectation was a national championship, like mine, then you probably should. As much as that sucks to type. Outside of Manning, I don’t know how issues like the offensive line’s inability to get a push, a lack of a running game and the penalty problem get solved during a season. There’s also the reality that the offensive side of the ball feels stale five years into Sark’s tenure. The Texas coach probably needs an influx of new faces, ideas, and a shift in roles to refresh his side of the ball. There’s simply so much that a head coach has to do in today’s game.

But at the same time, this isn’t your granddaddy’s college football season. Your resume doesn’t need to be spotless. Champions will have moments where all looks lost, where a side of the ball looks hopeless and inept. It happens in the NFL every sinle season. Oh, and Texas has an elite side of the ball in its defense—and what’s that saying again?

Steve Sarkisian didn’t rebuild this program by mistake. He didn’t arrive on the doorstep of two straight national championships by accident. This isn’t Cam Newton’s Auburn or Jameis Winston’s FSU, a program built only on the back of one transcendent player.

Doubt if you must, believe if you dare.

—

Fire the Cannon for: Jelani McDonald. I asked McDonald after the game if he drank an energy drink or two beforehand. He said he and the defense came out wanting to throw “haymakers.” Hopefully the offense starts throwing some punches of their own.

Horns Up on Offense for: Young ball carrier James Simon. The freshman RB is going to be sore this week after putting in a second-half shift for the Longhorns.

Horns Up on Defense for: The defensive line and EDGE Zina Umeozulu.

Bevo’s Bucket for: Manning’s second quarter.

Sarkometer (grading Steve Sarkisian): Last night Sark mentioned he has to remind himself to let Arch Manning “be a runner.” The path forward for this offense is probably just that—allow Manning to gain confidence by doing a 2018 Sam Ehlinger impression and see where that takes you.

Schadenfreude of the Week: It’s tough to point fingers and laugh when your own team is struggling. Georgia’s escape in Knoxville reminded me of the Wayne’s World quote about Keith Richards: “He can’t be killed by conventional weapons.” And although a Texas A&M loss would’ve put a Band-Aid over Longhorn fans’ wounds, their dramatic victory probably opened up a playoff spot as it sent Notre Dame to 0-2.

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This piping Hot Take burned the roof of my mouth: I’ll lean on Walter from The Big Lebowski, like I have before: “Nothing is f#cked, Dude.”

Hype Train Level: “Oh sorry, I’m going to take my own car. I’ll meet you there.”