Arch Manning Changes The Narrative In Win vs. San Jose State

In the Texas Longhorns’ season opener loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, quarterback Arch Manning posted one touchdown across 170 yards.

However, in the Saturday’s game against the San Jose State Spartans, Manning took the field for his fourth career start and accounted for 295 passing yards and five touchdowns in a 38-7 victory.

The Longhorn’s notable performance against San Jose State proves he’s shaping up, but shows there is still plenty of room for him to grow.

His performance shows progress, but it wasn't all smooth

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) and Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) on Aug. 30, 2025 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With Manning’s underwhelming performance in week 1 — it left many fans worried, and many critics skeptical.

However, it would be a bit, out of touch, to assume the young quarterback would be a phenome without having some critical learning moments. Thus, his performance in Ohio State being one of them.

In game 1, the Longhorns were able to maintain control of the ball for majority of the first and third. However, with heavy defensive pressure from Ohio State, Manning struggled to find confidence inside the pocket leading to some questionable decision-making skills and a poor sense of timing.

For game 2, while some of Manning’s shortcomings from week 1 lingered early on in the game, as he started off 3-for-6 for 11 yards in the Longhorns first two drives, and nearly intercepted an overthrown ball to wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

The quarterback quickly shook them off and secured an 83-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Parker Livingstone — which then kick started his impressive offensive run.

Texas Longhorns quarterback after scoring touchdown against San Jose State on Sep. 6, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial — Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning after scoring a touchdown against San Jose State on Sep. 6, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial in Austin, Texas. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Manning secure three more touchdown passes on three straight attempts, leading the Longhorns to score four touchdowns in under five minutes of game time all before the half.

While the Longhorn seemed to make improvements following the loss in week 1, it wasn’t an entirely effortless progress jump. Manning continued to make a few questionable decisions that resulted in errors. However, this time they weren’t game-changing.

In addition to the first quarter’s near interception, heavy pressure on Manning led him to throw into double coverage zone resulting in an interception to defensive back Jalen Apalit-Williams in the second quarter. Further, Manning also mistakenly fumbled the ball on a sack on his own 1-yard line.

While he was able to recover the fumble himself, and followed it up with a 20-yard rushing touchdown — his errors in Texas’ rebound win prove there are still areas needed to be tended to as the season goes on.

Despite his areas of improvement, the quarterback shows that he’s making progress in the right direction with better timing and securing the pass under defensive pressure.