Kirk Herbstreit sends clear message to Arch Manning as Texas looks to bounce back

Texas quarterback Arch Manning has been dragged through the ringer after a performance vs. Ohio State which the country collective deemed as terrible. Despite nearly toppling the defending national champions and current AP No. 1 team on the road, Manning needs to win back support with consistent play the rest of the season.

Most of the esteemed experts across college football believe Manning can and will make massive strides over the rest of the season. They understand just how difficult a situation he was put in, even while understanding that he objectively didn't perform well. Kirk Herbstreit is in that camp, and like many others, urges Manning to be patient as the QB for such a high-profile team.

"Arch Manning just has to settle in and become the quarterback he’s capable of being," Herbstreit explained on SportsCenter Saturday morning ahead of College GameDay. "The pieces they have around him are sensational."

Those comments came as part of an appraisal for Texas following the Week 1 setback. He was asked by SportsCenter anchors whether he trusted Alabama or the Longhorns more to bounce back after a season-opening loss, and he answered Texas, with ease.

"Ohhhh, Texas by far," he answered when asked the question, which solicited a round of boos from the Norman, Oklahoma crowd. "Texas is a playoff team," he continued. "Texas, if you look at them, they held Ohio State to 200 yards of offense, their defense is as good as anyone in the country. So there’s no question. That’s as much about how confident I am in Texas."

Despite questions with their prodigal quarterback, Texas is just so stout across their roster and did turn in a much higher-effort performance in their loss vs. Alabama.

Desmond Howard criticized Arch Manning coverage this week

Kirk Herbstreit's comments arrive at an interesting moment, because just this week, fellow College GameDay cast member Desmond Howard had expressed his disapproval at the lack of criticism on Manning after what he believed was a poor outing vs. OSU.

Howard doesn't understand where all the Arch Manning defenders are coming from in regards to his performance last Saturday. He joined the Rich Eisen Show this week to call out folks he believes aren't speaking truth on Arch Manning.

"People don't want to really criticize him as harshly because he is a Manning and they want to stay in good favor with the Mannings, right?" said Howard. "This is a big name in our sport."

From his seat on the couch watching tape, Howard saw a well-called defensive game plan but also noticed plenty of unforced errors by Arch Manning himself.

"I saw guys on SportsCenter and other shows pulling like three plays and showing how he may have confused Arch Manning with a look or a secondary switch at the last minute," Howard continued. "I'm watching the film, and I can show you 10 to 12 plays where guys were running wide open and he either just didn't hit them with the ball or he didn't see these guys and it wasn't that complex or that complicated."

Desmond Howard certainly doesn't grant Arch Manning the benefit of the doubt he believes his colleagues have. After all, the Texas QB didn't have much high-level college football experience coming into the 2025 season.