The Texas Longhorns came into their season-opening matchup against the Rice Owls as huge favorites, which had many fans curious to see if they would potentially see freshman quarterback Arch Manning come in the game if it turned into a blowout. It was indeed a blowout, but Manning did not see the field, which fans were not pleased about.
Texas’s offense led by sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers got off to a slow start in the game. But they quickly got things going in the second half, jumping out to a 34-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Ewers was taken out of the game, and fans were excited to see Manning warming up on the sidelines, looking like he was potentially getting ready to go into the game.
Arch Manning is warming up on the Texas sidelines. 🏈👀pic.twitter.com/gQpGBiq18K
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 2, 2023
However, redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy was the one who came into the game to relieve Ewers instead of Manning. Murphy would come into the game and perform admirably, completing three of his five pass attempts for 40 yards.
Maalik Murphy sighting at QB for the Longhorns! 🤘📍@SmvOperator x @TexasFootball pic.twitter.com/IqLErsiQSi
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 2, 2023
Manning obviously came to Texas with a ton of hype, being listed as the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 recruiting class along with his family lineage of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning as uncles.
With that in mind, fans were upset that they didn’t get a chance to see him, and are wondering if this means he is now officially the third-string quarterback at Texas.
https://twitter.com/Paytriot_X/status/1698103888132370699
https://twitter.com/mikeace33/status/1698104996791771163
https://twitter.com/JediDogMom/status/1698105216812343573
https://twitter.com/A_Lanier20/status/1698105766337482949
Arch Manning should have went to Alabama. I’m expecting him to be there next year.
— AC (@AC_TheGoldenBoy) September 2, 2023
It is entirely possible that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian wants to give Manning a chance to develop some before seeing the field. But if he was going to play this season, it certainly seems like Saturday’s blowout win was a great opportunity to do so…
