Kirk Herbstreit says QB isn’t to blame for struggling SEC favorite

As part of a discussion on his YouTube channel, ESPN college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway broke down the various issues at Penn State and Texas after the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams each picked up their second losses of the 2025 season over the weekend.

As with any conversation this fall where the Longhorns are brought up, Arch Manning's name is sitting their like the lowest-hanging fruit. Considering his immense profile nationally and his objectively poor start to the season, blame could easily fall on him — and some of it does. However, Kirk Herbstreit isn't ready to shovel all of Texas' shortcomings onto the shoulders of a first-year starter.

"Let’s just put Arch Manning to the side," Herbstreit began as he analyzed Texas. "Talking line of scrimmage for Texas: Like, when we stood on the sideline of the Ohio State-Texas game and I looked at Texas first game of the year, I’m like, 'Oh my gosh, look at that guy, look at that D-lineman, look at that offensive lineman.' They look the part. Somehow, they are not looking in the mirror to realize who they are."

For Herbstreit, Texas' problems have nothing to do with a lack of talent or athleticism. The physical characteristics are present, but for some reason, the Longhorns aren't as dominant on the football field as they literally look like they ought to be. This group featured a touted O-line and D-line full of NFL pieces. What happened? That's Herbstreit's question.

"Their defense not being able to slow down — Florida couldn’t do anything against Miami," he noted of the Longhorns most recent foe. "Nothing. And (DJ) Lagway’s been hurt and not really playing all that well."

Yet.. Florida put up just shy of 30 points while QB DJ Lagway threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, his best performance of the season by a mile when you consider the opponent and stakes.

Herbstreit did note that The Swamp is no cake-walk as a place to play, regardless of Florida's talent level in a given year. So of course you might expect Arch Manning to struggle and take his lumps. But Texas did put 21 points on the board, and for the Miami, USF and LSU teams that beat the Gators, that figure was enough to win. Against Texas, Florida racked up 29 and that was ultimately the difference last Saturday evening.

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