Bill Connelly of ESPN.com recently published an article ranking his top SEC quarterbacks heading into week 3 on the 2025 season, and a lot of Texas fans believe that Manning was snubbed (again).
Connelly's week 3 rankings:
1. Beau Pribula, Missouri
2. John Mateer, Oklahoma
3. Taylen Green, Arkansas
4. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
5. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
6. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
7. Arch Manning, Texas
"Hey, he's higher than he would have been a week ago, and he has two more nonconference tune-ups before SEC play begins."Connelly on Arch Manning
8. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
9. Ty Simpson, Alabama
10. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
11. Austin Simmons, Ole Miss
12. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
13. Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
14. Jackson Arnold, Auburn
15. D.J. Lagway, Florida
16. Zach Calzada, Kentucky
Through two games, Manning's completed 60% of his passes for 465 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He's also rushed 14 times for 61 yards on the ground to go along with 1 touchdown.
Though he didn't "set the world on fire" against Ohio State in week 1, he played a lot better than what he was given credit for. He was inaccurate on some throws but he also made adjustments and looked substantially better in the second half of that game. He then went on to torch the San Jose State defense in week 2 (which had some of the best MWC defensive players on it) for 5 total touchdowns.
As of right now, it's odd to see LSU's Garrett Nussmeier ahead of him. He just had a pretty underwhelming game against a bad Louisiana Tech team in week 2. Yes, Nussmeier was projected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation before the season started but if we're talking straight facts and production, Manning has been better than him so far in 2025.