Arch Manning snubbed: ESPN leaves Texas QB out of Top 5 SEC quarterbacks

Glenn Kaplan

Arch Manning snubbed: ESPN leaves Texas QB out of Top 5 SEC quarterbacks image

Scott Watcher

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning had a forgetful debut to the 2025 college football season in Week 1 against the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road. Manning looked very shaky in that game, but he had a nice bounce-back performance in Week 2 against the San Jose State Spartans in a 38-7 win.

Manning completed 63.3% of his passes for 295 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. This is no doubt progress compared to his first start, but Manning has a long way to go. There was a lot of hype around him before the start of the 2025 college football season. It appears that Manning is going to need to string several good weeks together in order for the hype to regain its form.

College Football Analyst thinks that Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning is not in the top 5 in the SEC Conference

Bill Connelly of ESPN.com listed his quarterback rankings for the SEC Conference entering the third week of the 2025 college football season. He has Manning not even ranked in the Top 5 in the conference at the position at the moment. Connelly has the Longhorns starter ranked seventh on his list. Connelly said,

"Hey, he's higher than he would have been a week ago, and he has two more nonconference tune-ups before SEC play begins."

Texas will face the UTEP Miners and the Sam Houston Bearkats before SEC Conference play begins. This will be a good chance for the Longhorns and Manning to gain confidence before SEC play begins. Undoubtedly, he can climb into the Top 5 SEC quarterback rankings soon.

For now, the number one quarterback in the SEC is Beau Pribula of the Missouri Tigers. To round out the rest of the Top 5, John Mateer of the Oklahoma Sooners is number two, Taylen Green of the Arkansas Razorbacks is number three, Diego Pavia of the Vanderbilt Commodores is number four, and Joey Aguilar of the Tennessee Volunteers is number five.

When SEC Conference play begins, there is no doubt that Manning will find himself in the Top 5 of this list. If the Longhorns quarterback can play consistently over the next few weeks, then Manning and the team will be in good hands moving forward. 

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Glenn Kaplan

Glenn Kaplan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has experience covering the MLB, college football, college basketball, NBA, NHL and NFL, bringing a well-rounded perspective to his work. Glenn has contributed to outlets including FanSided, Wisconsin Sports Heroics, Gridiron Heroics and Pro Football Network, and began his career with Towson University’s student newspaper.