It's fairly impossible to argue that Arch Manning has lived up to the expectations set for him before the 2025 season kicked off.
With an abysmal game against the Ohio State Buckeyes to start the year, followed by two rocky performances against the San Jose State Spartans and the UTEP-Miners, it wasn't until Week 4 that Manning seemingly found his footing.
However, despite the dominant performance against the Sam Houston Bearkats, analysts have still dropped Manning a long way down the national quarterback rankings.
Bill Connelly, a long-time college football analyst for ESPN, recently released his ranking of every Power Conference quarterback in the country. Manning fell all the way to No. 41 on the list.
How does Arch Manning compare to other SEC quarterbacks?
The rankings were headlined by USC's Jayden Maiava, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, and Oregon's Dante Moore. Manning is the 12th-ranked SEC quarterback on the list, only ahead of Auburn's Jackson Arnold, Mississippi State's Blake Shapen, Florida's DJ Lagway, and Kentucky's QB duo Cutter Boley and Zach Calzada.
So far this season, Manning has earned 888 passing yards for nine touchdowns, also throwing three interceptions. On the ground, he has tacked on an additional 123 yards and five touchdowns.
The Horns' 944 total passing yards (added onto by backup QBs Matthew Caldwell and KJ Lacey Jr.) land them in 12th amongst SEC programs.
For a team that started the season ranked No. 1 in the country, with a quarterback expected to be a Heisman finalist, the year has started disappointingly for Texas. As SEC play kicks off this Saturday, when the Longhorns visit the Florida Gators, it may be a truly telling game for the rest of the year.
Texas and Florida are scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 4, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.