The 5 Most Important Moments of the Texas Longhorns' 2025 Season

The 2025 season for the Texas Longhorns was one of sky-high expectations, midseason setbacks, and strong finishes.

The Arch Manning era was officially ushered in after quarterback Quinn Ewers was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 2025 NFL draft, and though he didn't exactly start off as the Heisman Trophy candidate as many portrayed him as, he eventually found his footing as the season wore on.

2025 may have seen the Longhorns fail to make the College Football Playoff semifinals for the first time since the 2022 season, and also miss the College Football Playoff entirely, but the season was still plenty memorable for all the right (and maybe some wrong) reasons.

Top 5 Moments of the 2025 for the Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) drops back to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Ohio Stadium. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

5) Reality Check vs. Ohio State

The Longhorns opened up the 2025 season as the No. 1 team and the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship, and what better way to test that projection than by pitting the Horns against the reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes (on the road in Columbus, no less) in their very first game of the season?

As we all know, Arch Manning's first road start didn't exactly go as planned, but still showed promise for the New Orleans native despite the interception that he threw, and the Horns started the season 0-1 with a 14-7 loss.

Props were heavily awarded to the Longhorns defense for keeping the game close, another testament to the professional level of defense that Sarkisian had built.

Texas Longhorns football vs. Florida Gators — Florida Gators offensive lineman Jake Slaughter (66) lines up against the Texas Longhorns defense during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

4) Feelin' Swampy

The Longhorns would rattle off three straight wins after their loss at "The Horseshoe," which included a blowout 55-0 win over the Sam Houston State Bearkats, but their second road game and SEC series opener against the Florida Gators saw them take two steps back as they fell 29-21 in Gainesville to take their second loss of the season.

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway put together a spectacular performance with 298 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to freshman wide receiver Dallas Wilson, who caught six passes for 111 yards.

The loss had many wondering if Texas were really the contenders that many had them set out to be at the beginning of the season, now sitting at 3-2 at this point. Needing a quick turnaround, the Longhorns would get it the following week in Dallas.

Texas Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons (1) celebrates with the golden hat following the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorn at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

3) Red River Resurgence

After many had put their hopes of Arch Manning winning the Heisman Trophy to rest, Manning would quickly prove his critics wrong by outdueling fellow Heisman-worthy quarterback John Mateer in a 23-6 win over the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the first time in 10 years that an unranked Texas team defeated a ranked Oklahoma squad.

Arch Manning had precision that could rival that of Drew Brees, the Texas defense picked off Mateer three times, and Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards to the house in the fourth quarter to reassert the Longhorns as one of the SEC's best.

2) Waking Up Feeling the Cheesiest vs. Michigan

The final high in a roller coaster season for the Longhorns, as Manning would lead three straight scoring drives, including one with five minutes left in the contest that saw the sophomore scamper 60 yards for a touchdown that resulted in the Longhorns redeeming their CFP miss with a 41-27 win in the Cheez-It Bowl over the Michigan Wolverines.

Manning would finish his dual-threat masterpiece with 221 passing yards and 155 rushing yards, combining for four touchdowns as Texas avenged their season-opening loss to a Big 10 team by scoring a massive win over another notable Big 10 school.

1) "And It's Goodbye to A&M"

In the first Lone Star Showdown in the Texas state capital since 2010, the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies had one more obstacle that separated them from both a spot in the SEC Championship and a perfect 12-0 regular season.

And for the second straight season, Sarkisian and the No. 16-ranked Horns played spoiler for their rivals.

Though Mike Elko's Aggies jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the game, Texas came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, putting up 17 unanswered points and topping off the 27-17 win with a 35-yard scoring run by Arch Manning and interceptions on back-to-back drives by A&M quarterback Marcel Reed.

At that point, it had been 5,482 days since the Aggies had bested the Longhorns on the gridiron, and with one flawless run by Manning, Texas made sure that that number grew by at least 365 days.

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