Per usual, Texas football quarterback Arch Manning didn’t want to talk about himself Monday.
When told during his weekly session with local media that teammate Michael Taaffe had endorsed him for the Heisman Trophy, Manning scoffed. When asked to give himself a grade for the season, he deferred to the journalists in the room. After his session ended and a last-second question about Thanksgiving food arose, he scrambled from his seat as if he were evading a pass rush.
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Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) arrives at the stadium ahead of the game against Vanderbilt at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Manning has previously said one of the things he learned from Quinn Ewers during his two years as the former UT quarterback’s backup was how to deal with the media. The understudy has quickly become the master. Bulletin board material and memorable rants aren’t things that usually come out of media sessions with Manning, who prefers to keep his answers short and sweet.
Manning, though, made one thing clear on Monday. His first season as Texas’ starter has featured some highs and lows. And while he has been hesitant to publicly highlight the highs, he also hasn’t been one to dwell on the lows.
“I’m not a quitter,” Manning said in response to a question about dealing with adversity. “Just got to keep going, continue to move forward and get better.”
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Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks tp pass the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arkansas Razorbacks in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman
Florida fallout, flop comment test Arch Manning’s resolve
NO. 16 TEXAS VS. NO. 3 TEXAS A&M
When/where: 6:30 p.m. at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
TV/radio: ABC; 1300 AM, 1370 AM, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM (Spanish).
Last month, Texas stumbled in its SEC opener and lost at Florida. Manning threw for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the defeat. In the wake of that loss — and a five-game start to a season that has also included a Week 1 setback at Ohio State and an uninspiring performance by Manning against UTEP — an article that ran in The Athletic questioned whether Manning was the “first flop” of college football’s NIL era.
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Manning took the flop comment in stride. He told reporters soon thereafter that he wasn’t playing well and “everyone has their own opinion, and that’s what’s good about America: You get freedom of speech. It doesn’t bother me.”
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Following the Florida flub, Manning helped lead the Longhorns to four straight wins. After a blowout loss Nov. 15 to Georgia — a loss that could end up being the final blow to No. 16 Texas’ College Football Playoff hopes — Manning and the Longhorns bounced back with a 52-37 win over Arkansas.
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In the six games since he was called a flop, Manning has thrown for 1,612 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 64.1% of his passes. He has posted 300 passing yards in three of his last four outings with the outlier being a 251-yard effort at Georgia. Against the Razorbacks last week, Manning accounted for six scores and became the first quarterback in school history to record a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game.
Oh, so that’s the Manning that many expected to see when he replaced Ewers as QB1. Not that he ever doubted that player existed.
“I feel like every quarterback in the country, every player in the country, has had that confidence in themselves that they’re the best player on the field,” Manning said. “I’m going to continue to have that as long as I play the sport. As much as y’all want to tell me differently, that’ll never change.”
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) embraces Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Connor Robertson (62) ahead of the Longhorns’ game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 22, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
On Monday, Texas players spent more time talking about Manning’s resolve than his recent play. Part of the reason that Taaffe said he’d give Manning a Heisman vote is his belief that the quarterback has thrived despite being “the most hated-on person in all of college football.” Offensive lineman Trevor Goosby insisted Manning is “a guy that I want to lay my life on the line for every down.” Wide receiver Parker Livingstone praised his quarterback’s leadership, while offensive lineman Cole Hutson said he was never concerned that Manning would crack under the pressure because “his resolve, it’s been tested and it’s proven itself.”
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“I don’t know if any college player has kind of gone through what he went through before he even was the full-time starter,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Part of that is his last name. Part of it is our brand. I think those two things coming together made this such a big storyline before the season, but none of it was anything due to what Arch was doing. He just kind of kept focusing on what he needed and tried to do. I’m sure there were moments when it was a lot, maybe even overwhelming. But to his credit, the guy showed so much resolve and resiliency and just stick-to-it-ness to the task at hand.
“It wasn’t a perfect journey to get to this point, but sometimes it’s good not to have a perfect journey,” Sarkisian continued. “Sometimes taking a road less traveled is good for you. I said this early in the year: He was going to benefit from the journey that he had to go on, and that he can learn how to overcome some of the adversity that he was faced with and some of the criticism he was faced with. I think he’s better and stronger for it today.”
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) snaps the ball during the game against Georgia at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in Athens, Georgia.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Can Arch Manning lead Texas past Texas A&M?
Texas hosts undefeated and third-ranked Texas A&M on Friday, the Aggies’ first trip to Austin since 2010. With a win, the Aggies (11-0, 7-0) will secure a spot in the SEC championship game. Texas A&M can still play for the SEC title with a loss if conference tiebreakers end up working in its favor, but at worst it will just start preparing for the playoffs early if they lose at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
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MORE: Longhorn betting lines, predictions for Week 14 against Texas A&M
Meanwhile, No. 16 Texas (8-3, 5-2) needs a win to give the CFP committee something to think about. Even with a win, Texas seems more likely headed to a regular bowl game than the 12-team playoff.
Manning didn’t start against A&M last year, but he did play. In the first quarter, the Longhorns unveiled a rushing package for their backup quarterback and he ran for a 15-yard score in UT’s 17-7 victory in College Station. That was the first game played between the longtime rivals in 13 years.
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“(Texas and Texas A&M is a) big game. I was glad to be a part of last year and glad to have the chance to be part of it again,” Manning said.