More Details Have Emerged in the Arch Manning Stare Down Saga

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is no stranger to making headlines. If he lifts a finger, the internet reacts, and it usually comes with criticism.

So when he delivered a somewhat controversial viral moment in Saturday's 55-0 win over Sam Houston State, it didn't take long for the social media haters to come out in full swing.

After scoring a five-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, Manning immediately got in the face of Sam Houston State linebacker Antavious Fish, clearly letting his competitive emotions show. However, it's possible that Manning was just delivering a "get back" toward Fish.

Arch Manning Not to Blame?

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning runs in for a touchdown past Sam Houston Bearkats linebacker Antivirus Fish (6) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

As pointed out by Texas Homer of Inside Texas, it appears that Manning did the stare down as a form of retaliation toward Fish, who can be seen intentionally stepping over Manning after making a few comments in the all-22 tape of the game.

This happened earlier in the first quarter before the infamous stare down, and possibly led to Manning's reaction.

Take a look:

Arch Manning the evil bully flexing on innocent Sam Houston players because he's a bad person pic.twitter.com/gAVxJvZiRa
— Texas Homer (@TheTexasHomer) September 21, 2025

Manning took the high road while speaking to the media about the incident after the game, as he shouldered the blame and admitted his mom got mad at him.

"Probably a little much there," Manning said. "My mom was pretty mad about that. A little immature, but I think it's some built up frustration those past few weeks."

He added that the referee got on him about it and he was scared of getting a penalty. Surprisingly, no flag was thrown.

"The ref came up to me, I was so scared," Manning said with a smile. "The ref ripped by a**. I apologized to the ref."

Manning ended up finishing the game 18 of 21 passing for 309 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while also adding two scores on the ground.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian also said postgame that he likes when Manning lets loose and plays with emotion.

"I always say this about Arch, there's a lot more personality in there than sometimes everyone gets to see," Sarkisian said. "I always feel like he's a little bit at his best when that emotion kind of comes out some. I think there was a lot built up in there, obviously, from last week that he needed to get out. But inevitably, I think the guys feed off of that for him, and it's one of his strengths."

Manning and the Longhorns head into the bye week before opening SEC play against the Florida Gators on Oct. 4.