The Texas Longhorns entered the year with a lot of hype surrounding the program, especially Junior quarterback Arch Manning, who opened the season as the starting quarterback for the first time in his collegiate career.
Manning opened the season as the Heisman trophy favorite and received enormous hype from some of college football’s most respected analysts.
“We put him at No. 1 because we have to. It’s Arch Manning. We saw glimpses last year of the greatness he could provide that Texas offense. Running the football, he’s got great legs. Cooper Manning, his father, was a wide receiver until he got injured. So he’s got speed – something Eli and Peyton didn’t have,” NFL draft expert Mel Kiper said before the season.
Unfortunately for Manning, he really struggled in the early part of the season. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum even walked back some of the media hype Manning received in the early part of the season.
“The bottom line is Arch Manning is not playing like an elite quarterback,” Finebaum said earlier this season, according to Awful Announcing. “He’s barely playing like a pedestrian quarterback. He had some good plays (against San Jose State), but that game doesn’t mean anything. Ultimately, I think we all jumped the gun. Is he in the Heisman race? No, Arch Manning is not in the Heisman race as of today.”
However, Manning showed massive improvement and led the Longhorns to a crucial win over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Manning even won a massive award, that should get him back into the Heisman conversation, especially if the Longhorns manage to make the playoff.
🏈 SEC Offensive Player of the Week: WK 10
🤘 Arch Manning@TexasFootball x #SECFB pic.twitter.com/7FHbSzCExL
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 3, 2025
Fans reacted to Manning winning the award on social media.
“Almost all of his passing yards were YAC… talk about getting credit for other teammates’ performance,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“People better make the praise as loud as the disrespect,” another fan added.
“I need that line to give him time and HES GREAT,” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for Manning and the Longhorns.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.