‘We’re lucky to have him as our guy’: Steve Sarkisian praises ‘borderline arrogant, full-of-swagger’ Arch Manning

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning entered Saturday night’s game against No. 7 Ole Miss facing an enormous amount of pressure, with his head coach reportedly warning him that a change could be coming if his play didn’t improve. Manning answered, at least for one night, accounting for three touchdowns as Texas held on for a 34-27 win over Ole Miss in a must-win game.

After the strong performance from Manning after a week of intense scrutiny, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said he was “very proud” of his quarterback for the way he responded and the mentality that he showed.

Manning On The Hot Seat

Manning came into the season as a Heisman Trophy favorite, but Texas lost back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Florida by identical 27-24 scores, with a costly late turnover from Manning in each of the two losses.

After the loss to Florida, Sarkisian said that “everything is going to be evaluated” as he did not rule out the possibility of benching Manning. In alignment with those comments, Manning reportedly took significantly fewer first-team reps in practice this week, with backup KJ Lacey Jr. getting more work as Texas started to prepare for a potential change. Then, during ESPN’s coverage on Saturday, Holly Rowe reported that Sarkisian had told Manning, “I will make a change unless you show me something different this week.” Sarkisian said Manning responded to the warning with one of his best weeks of practice at Texas.

That said, Sarkisian also praised his quarterback’s response to the criticism as he called Manning “edgy” and said that “at some point, he’s gotta fight back,” sending a message to his quarterback.

Texas Holds On

Manning had one of the best halves of his career on Saturday as he went 13-of-19 for 171 yards in the first half, including a 50-yard touchdown to Ryan Wingo, as Texas took a 24-3 lead into halftime.

But the second half got ugly. Ole Miss returned a Manning fumble for a touchdown to start a 21-0 run, and the Rebels tied the game in the fourth quarter.

After Manning’s second interception, Texas leaned on its running game. The Longhorns ran the ball 12 times and threw only one pass the rest of the way, and Manning capped a six-play, 80-yard drive by high-stepping into the end zone on a naked bootleg to give Texas a 31-24 lead with 8:04 left.

Ole Miss kicked a field goal with 1:22 left to make it 34-27 and recovered the ensuing onside kick. But Trinidad Chambliss’ Hail Mary attempt on the final play was intercepted by Jelani McDonald.

Manning finished 18-of-30 for 212 yards and a touchdown, with two rushing scores. He also had three turnovers.

‘He’s A Fighter’

After the game, Sarkisian made it clear that he liked what he saw from his quarterback, especially after everything he went through this week. He praised his mentality.

“One thing I know about Arch Manning, he’s a fighter,” Sarkisian said, via ESPN. “I like the edgy, kind of borderline arrogant, full-of-swagger Arch. I just feel like that’s when he’s at his best.”

Sarkisian also spoke about the scrutiny that comes with being Manning.

“His world, his life, is different than anybody else I’ve ever been around that’s been part of this sport,” Sarkisian said. “But the guy keeps coming back. And so we’re lucky to have him as our guy.”

Sarkisian said that Manning’s mentality seemed to rub off on the rest of the team.

“The edginess that I touched on, I think, carried over to our team,” Sarkisian said. “I think our team played that way because of him. When he responds that way, when he plays that way, when he shows that fire in his belly that he had tonight, I think the team responds to that.”