Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning got his swagger back in Saturday's 55-0 shutout over Sam Houston State. This was the most complete for the young signal-caller, going 18-of-21 for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, while adding scores on the ground. His touchdown celebration with the stare down went viral as well.
Manning said he worried he would get a taunting penalty and that he quickly apologized to the official for getting emotional. "Probably a little much there," Manning admitted. "My mom was pretty mad about it. I think it was some built-up frustration for the past few weeks."
Texas improved to 3-1 on the year with the win. But another non-conference win isn't going to do them any favors in the SEC race. Next week's contest at The Swamp against Florida will be an early test, especially for Manning. He'll have the opportunity to prove the jitters in the road loss to Ohio State are behind him.
Arch Manning after scoring this TD 😤 pic.twitter.com/39fEnfclXi
— ESPN (@espn) September 21, 2025
"It felt good," Manning said. "I wish I could have done that the last [three] weeks. But I'm glad we did it tonight. ... Got the ball in my guys' hands and let them go to work."
Not to mention, the bye week comes at the right time for Texas. It's a perfect time to regroup, and if Manning is nursing an injury, he'll be stronger to start the conference slate. A true win-win situation as the Longhorns will try to sink Billy Napier's future further in ground. However, that goes both ways. If Florida can use their bye week and finds a way to knock off the tenth-ranked team in the nation, the conversation will shift back to Texas being a middle-of-the-pack SEC pretender.
We will see if Texas can continue building against Florida on Oct. 4, but for now, it looks like the Longhorns are trying to find their way back in the Playoff conversation.
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