The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 college football season with historic expectations. Ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll for the first time in school history, the program was viewed as a national championship contender for the first time since winning the title in twenty years.
A major reason for the optimism was quarterback Arch Manning taking over as the starter. The former five-star recruit and top player in the 2023 class was considered to be an early Heisman Trophy frontrunner despite serving as Quinn Ewers’s backup the previous two years. However, Manning has produced mixed results through four games.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt addressed Manning’s performance this week on his show. He didn't hold back in his assessment. Klatt said Texas’ defense has played at a high level but pointed to quarterback inconsistency as a potential issue.
“Defense is still in the top five in the country,” Klatt said. “I feel like I know that the defense is going to be just fine. Now, the question is what Arch are we going to get from week to week because there have been some drastic inconsistencies with the way he’s played. Obviously, it’s a great sign moving forward if he’s able to play the level of football that he did last weekend.”
Manning’s season began with a 14-7 loss at Ohio State in which he completed 56.7% of his passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He responded the following week against San Jose State with 295 yards and four touchdowns. Against UTEP, he regressed, finishing with 114 yards and a 44% completion rate. His best outing came last week against Sam Houston State, where he threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns while completing nearly 86% of his passes.
Texas remains a contender, but its championship hopes depend on Manning delivering consistent play. The team is in the midst of a bye week before heading to The Swamp to face Florida, who's in desperate need of a win.
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