Former QB Says Texas Longhorns Have ‘Arch Issue’ on Offense

The Texas Longhorns have been struggling offensively and fans have begun to take notice.

Currently sitting with a 2-1 record, the Longhorns have looked like a shell of their old selves. In 2024, Texas had one of the most dynamic and creative offensive attacks in all of college football. In 2025, the Arch Manning-led squad struggled to get going against UTEP resulting in boos from fans at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.

On a Wednesday morning episode of The Joel Klatt Show, Klatt did a deep dive on Manning’s game and how he impacts the team.

The Arch Manning Issue

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against the Texas El Paso Miners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Against the UTEP Miners, Manning completed 11 of his 25 passing attempts for 114 yards a passing touchdown, an interception, and two rushing touchdowns. In the first half, he recorded 10-straight incompletions, prompting the boos.

“Arch Manning has played really poor so far this year, really poor,” Klatt said. “They’ve got quality wide receivers, they’ve got quality backs, they’re good up front. Now have they played their best around him? Probably not. But, this is, to me, a more specific Arch issue with their offense.”

Manning currently holds a 55 percent completion percentage on all throws, which is the second-worst in the SEC. On throws that cross the line of scrimmage, he is completing an abysmal 46 percent of his passes. After watching all of Manning’s attempts in the UTEP game, Klatt diagnosed why Arch keeps missing throws, and it is not due to injury.

“For young quarterbacks that don’t have a ton of experience, the first thing you have to look for is ‘is the speed of the game affecting their play,’” Klatt said. “It looks like that’s the case with Arch… I do think that facing a defense as difficult to face as Ohio State in Week 1 did not do him a lot of good, but he is clearly not comfortable.”

A Steve Sarkisian offense relies a ton on timing as it is an offshoot of old school West Coast offenses. Bill Walsh, the coach credited with creating the West Coast offense, preached that timing plus spacing equals completions, and timing plus ball placement equals yards after the catch.

“The timing of the offense is held in the quarterbacks’ feet,” Klatt said. “I personally believe, after watching Arch, he is too fast right now. He is pressing and he is ahead of the offense… he is ahead of the time of the offense. When that happens, typically you lose your balance, you lose your pocket presence.. You lose your wide receivers. When you do let go of the football, you are moving so fast in your own mind, you typically throw those balls short.”

All of Klatt’s criticisms are fixable. How fast Manning can get his timing down will determine the rest of the Longhorns’ season.

“At some point, I just have the sense that the timing will click,” Klatt said. “If Arch can get himself in a better rhythm, I think the completions will come.”