Things so far aren’t going as hoped for Texas and Arch Manning.
The preseason No. 1 Longhorns lost their season-opener on the road to Ohio State amid a disappointing debut for Manning as the team’s full-time starting quarterback.
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The schedule’s gotten considerably easier since then with home contests against San Jose State and UTEP that were projected as get-right games for the Longhorns and chances for Manning to settle into his much-hyped role.
Texas won both games by 17-plus point margins. But Manning’s play in Saturday’s 27-10 over UTEP did little to inspire confidence and even drew boos from the home crowd in Austin. Manning addressed his mostly poor play through three games during a news conference Monday.
“I know the type of player that I am,” Manning told reporters, per the Associated Press. “I know I’m going to play better and we’re going to be better as an offense.”
Arch Manning and Texas have one more get-right game before diving into their SEC schedule.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Manning finished Saturday’s game having completed 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
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At one point late in the first half, he threw 10 consecutive incomplete passes. A third-down incompletion late in that run should have been intercepted and drew the aforementioned boo birds from the Texas crowd.
“It’s frustrating because I know I’m better than that,” Manning said Monday. “But you know, we’re going to be better this week and get clicking on offense. I’m excited to get going.”
In three starts, Manning has completed 55.3% of his passes for 193 yards per game with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Long gone is the Heisman hype that surrounded him in the preseason despite his having started just two college football games. As are the projections that had him going No. 1 overall in next year’s NFL Draft.
The chatter now is focused on whether Manning can keep Texas competitive for a daunting SEC slate.
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Manning and the Longhorns have one more get-right game remaining before diving into the heart of their coneference schedule. They’ll host Sam Houston on Saturday.
Sam Houston is playing in just its third FBS season and is off to an 0-3 start with 17-point losses in each of its three games against Western Kentucky, UNLV and Hawai’i. Anything short of gaudy numbers from Manning and the Texas offense will amplify the noise.
After that comes Florida and then a Red River rivalry game against No. 11 Oklahoma in which there will be little room for error and nowhere to hide from the glaring college football spotlight.
