It did not take long for Texas fans to lose patience with Arch Manning. They gave him exactly three games as the true starting quarterback before they started to boo.
His first-half performance against UTEP was more than worthy of ridicule.
However, college football fans need to remember that the former No. 1 overall recruit was always going to be a little bit of a project. Growing pains are to be expected. Just maybe not to this this extent…
Arch Manning looked awful.
We spoke at length about the Manning family earlier this week. There is a lot of speculation that the first grandson of football is dealing with a shoulder injury because of his side-arm throwing motion and his awkward grimace on one particular throw against San Jose State.
Steve Sarkisian shot down any injury concerns with one of the weirdest analogies possible.
— – (@Spicoli_____) September 7, 2025
The Manning family history can explain the face he made that sent social media into a frenzy. No big deal.
Although it is great that Arch Manning is not injured, that does not explain his struggles. He was not great against Ohio State or San Jose State. He was downright bad during the first half against UTEP.
Texas fans started to boo.
Manning at one point threw 10-straight incompletions. And it was even worse than the stats suggested.
The five-star quarterback could not make standard throws of less than five yards.
Arch Manning not being able to make standard throws like this is why Texas is in trouble pic.twitter.com/oEmwb5P5dC
— Oswald (@OswaldsWrld) September 13, 2025
He also missed a wide-open receiver on 4th-and-goal from the two-yard-line and threw a pick.
A few missed targets by Texas QB Arch Manning, UTEP safety Xavier Smith grabs an interception in the end zone.
— Adrian Broaddus (@AdrianBroaddus) September 13, 2025
Can’t say Arch has looked good at all…
First down, UTEP. #MinerTalk pic.twitter.com/Ax6ZSbqo32
It was bad. Like really, really bad. To the point that Longhorns fans had enough.
They let the offense hear it before halftime. Boos rained down on Arch Manning.
— badbeats (@backdoorisopen) September 13, 2025
Even if the boos were warranted, lets remember his uncle’s freshman season! Peyton Manning completed only 89 passes for 1,141 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions in 1994. Yeesh.
I know it is not apples to apples but patience is a virtue. Arch Manning can still get this figured out.