Texas coach explains what would happen with Arch Manning ‘if you took the name off the back of his jersey’

The Texas Longhorns football team lost its first game of the season on Saturday, falling to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry following two crucial late-game interceptions from Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning.

On Sunday, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, who crowned the young quarterback as the preseason favorite for the Heisman and hailed him as the next generational prospect for the NFL heading into last season before he had to backpedal weeks into the season, led the conversation around Manning again, although this time he had nothing complimentary to say about the QB.

“We showed arrogance in believing that Arch Manning can do anything. And he almost did, except he finally got in the way of himself,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show, referencing Texas’ late charge against Oklahoma.

“And I was really troubled by how he had played up to this point. I came away thinking, I don’t know what this guy’s going to do. Because he is not the elite player that we all tried to make him out to be. He can be great in moments, as we saw near the end of the game, as he threw that great play that set up the touchdown, but he can just be downright stupid in others.”

On Monday, Finebaum said on ESPN airwaves that “we have to start looking at arch manning as if he is not a Manning.” That same day, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian gave his own thoughts on what would happen if a different last name was on the back of his quarterback’s jersey.

“I think that he’s processing fine,” Sarkisian told reporters during his Monday presser. “Again, I think playing really good offensive football is all 11. Playing 11 as one. I think it’s scheme, I think it’s momentum of the game.

“I think if you took the name off the back of his jersey and you said, ‘Here’s Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas and here’s a guy who’s beaten four Top-10 ranked teams in his last 13 starts,’ we’d be praising the guy. But the expectations are high for him. He understands that. The expectations are high for all of us. We’ve got to put our nose back to the grind and get back to work.”

Manning will have plenty of chances to prove his coach’s trust in him well placed. Texas faces the Florida Gators before playing four straight games against ranked opponents.