Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns (3-2, 0-1 SEC) took on the Florida Gators (2-3, 1-1 SEC) at the Swamp on Saturday. There were many ups and downs, but the Gators ended up securing the win, 29-21, in dramatic fashion.
Here, I have Manning's Week 6 quarterback report card.
Stat Line
55.2% / 70.5 QBR
16/29
263 yards
2 TD / 2 INT
The Good
I saw moments of brilliance from Manning that showed he’s trying to turn it up a notch. He made some good throws on the run and even connected on touchdown passes to Ryan Wingo and Quintrevion Wisner without second-guessing it. There were also moments where he used his legs to pick up key yardage. I wouldn’t say the entire game was all bad—there are definitely some positives to build on moving forward.
The Bad
As a first-year starter in the SEC, expectations will always be extremely high. I noticed a few things that are still hindering Manning and the Texas offense. They are as follows:
Holding the Ball: Manning has to let the ball fly. His receivers were open on key downs—he needs to reward them. He was waiting to see them open instead of throwing with anticipation. During the final drive, with 26 seconds left, he held the ball and missed multiple opportunities.
Inconsistency: There were moments of brilliance that make you wonder why the Texas offense is struggling so much. One minute he’s sharp; the next, he’s just off.
Turnovers: There were two too many, killing the momentum. I always say you can’t throw what you can’t see. In this conference, secondaries won’t allow you to just toss the ball up for grabs—they’ll take it away, as they did in this game.
Pocket Awareness: Manning took far too many bad sacks—six in total. He has to be smarter than that. Texas got the ball back with one minute left in regulation, but Manning took a poor sack. With 26 seconds remaining, he took another bad sack that ultimately killed the drive and ran precious time off the clock.
Remarks
In this conference, these are the kinds of mistakes that cost you games. As the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, this can’t happen—there’s no excuse. If you can execute flawlessly in practice, you should be able to do the same in a game.
The Grade
Grade: C+
I can see that Manning is trying to elevate his play for conference play—it just wasn’t enough to beat Florida that day. There were many inconsistent moments that held the offense back. Can it get better? Absolutely. Manning isn’t quite there yet, but he’s showing fight.
Final Thoughts
If I’m Steve Sarkisian, this is a throwaway game. What that means is watching the film, taking notes, and making sure a performance like this never happens again. If it occurs against No. 6 Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0 SEC), it will get ugly very fast. Playtime was four games ago—this is big-boy ball now. It might be harsh, but it’s the truth.