AUSTIN, Texas — So, if Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian intends to appraise the state of his offense after consecutive clunkers, does that mean quarterback Arch Manning’s job is in jeopardy?

“Everything means everything,” Sarkisian said Saturday afternoon when asked what his offensive evaluations will entail.

Sarkisian did not suggest directly that Manning will be benched after a 27-24 loss vs. Florida at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, nor did he answer multiple questions that asked whether he considered a midgame quarterback change, but he did acknowledge that there’s “no doubt about it” that the junior could’ve been better vs. the Gators.

Manning passed for 173 yards (the fewest he’s totaled vs. a power conference team this season) and a 20.6 quarterback rating (the lowest he’s posted vs. any team this season). He did not throw any interceptions, but he was responsible for several questionable misses and a fourth-quarter fumble that stalled what could’ve been a go-ahead drive.

Manning has been statistically one of the worst quarterbacks in his own conference. Per Pro Football Focus, he’s earned a 69.7 overall offensive grade, which ranks 10th out of the SEC’s 16 primary starting quarterbacks. His 145.3 rating ranks ninth, his 11 touchdowns rank ninth, his 63.9% completion rate ranks 10th and his 1,295 passing yards rank 12th. That’s in part led to back-to-back losses against unranked teams in which Manning and his offense looked stale outside of a handful of drives.

Sarkisian and Co. must now decide if Manning is their best in-house option with a postseason berth still a legitimate possibility. The Longhorns’ second-string quarterback is redshirt freshman KJ Lacey, a former four-star recruit from Saraland, Ala., and their third-string quarterback is true freshman Dia Bell, a former four-star recruit from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Lacey, who’s thrown nine career passes, is the only one of the two who’s played in a college game. He was described by 247Sports.com as “one of the better pure passers” in his high school class who can “push the tempo” with “quick release and swift decisions.” The Longhorns looked their best offensively vs. the Gators when they played at a quicker pace early.

But if the Longhorns do bench Manning in favor of Lacey, they’d proceed into arguably the hardest stretch of their regular-season schedule with a largely unproven quarterback behind center. The Longhorns will play three ranked teams — No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU — in their next four games and next week’s contest vs. the Rebels is at home.

“It’d be easy for me to say, ‘Hey, Arch was the problem today,’” Sarkisian said. “Was Arch perfect? No. But nobody was perfect on offense today. We took turns today. That’s where I have to look at every aspect of what we’re doing, because if it was one person, it’d be easy.”

Manning wouldn’t be the first high-profile quarterback benched this season. Michigan benched former top recruit Bryce Underwood during their win vs. Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Manning and Underwood were both the top high school quarterbacks in their respective classes and each arrived on campus with massive expectations, though the former was considered a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, while the latter needed to prove himself after an underwhelming freshman season.

There are fewer instances where preseason Heisman Trophy favorites — which Manning was, at plus-750 alongside Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr, per BetMGM — were benched midseason. The last was Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, the 2021 preseason Heisman Trophy favorite and potential top draft pick, who lost his job to freshman Caleb Williams midseason during that year’s Red River Rivalry game against Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Rattler entered the transfer portal that offseason, spent two seasons at South Carolina and was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.

A trip to the bench would certainly ding Manning’s draft stock.

So will further struggles.