The Texas Longhorns’ 29-21 loss to the Florida Gators this past Saturday was the end of hoping for a College Football Playoff run. The Longhorns’ letdown in the “Swamp” has USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer wanting to replace Arch Manning under center in Austin.
Toppmeyer proposed UCLA Bruins Nico Iamaleava, fresh off leading an 0-4 team to a 42-37 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in Week 6, as Texas’ next QB1. In the process, Toppmeyer claimed Arch would be playing for the Rice Owls if his last name weren’t Manning.
“Texas has revealed itself to be the biggest fraud in the land, which is saying something, because this is a land that also includes Penn State,” Toppmeyer wrote.
“For Texas, the problems start at quarterback. They don't end there, but they start there.
“If Arch Manning had any other surname stitched to the back of his jersey, we’d say he belonged at Rice more than he belongs at Texas. Manning threw two interceptions in this latest loss, a 29-21 takedown by Florida, and he’s fortunate it wasn’t four interceptions.”
That’s not the first time Manning has been hit with that insult. It’s truly impossible to analyze that level of hypothetical, though. Arch attended the same high school, Isidore Newman in New Orleans, that his uncles Peyton and Eli did. Playing for Nelson Stewart’s Greenies is a transformational experience, one way or another, that Arch might not have had if his last name weren’t Manning and Archie hadn’t settled down with his family in the Big Easy after playing for the Saints.
That was already an unnecessarily deep dive. Arch is who he is, and came from where he came from.
As for replacing him, it’d be a bold move that Steve Sarkisian may have to consider for the price tag. Manning looks way further behind than anyone could’ve imagined. It’s clear why he never replaced Quinn Ewers in the lineup, unless Manning is also dealing with a debilitating injury like Ewers was last season.
If that’s the case, and Manning is being asked to play through pain, maybe he’ll hit the portal himself.