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If Arch Manning can stop the flop, he'd make a great comeback story
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- If Arch Manning can stop the flop, he'd make a great comeback story
Even for those who fill their bellies dining at the table of schadenfreude, Arch Manning served a gut-buster of a meal the first several weeks of this college football season.
Peyton Manning 's nephew struggled against Ohio State. He languished against Texas-El Paso, of all teams. He got mauled by Gators in The Swamp.
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This isn't just a five-star quarterback fizzling in the face of runaway expectations. This here is a nepo baby failing to live up to his surname.
Yessiree, that's a five-star schadenfreude feast.
As a chef's kiss, Manning plays for Texas, a yearslong egocentric underachiever that plenty of college football fans love to hate. The preseason No. 1 Longhorns look as legit as a $3 bill .
There is, however, such a reality as too much of a good thing, even for those who imbibe in the saloon of others' misfortune. As much as our society takes glee in seeing people fail and getting stuffed full of humble pie, we love a comeback story even more.
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We're there to laugh at the fall, then cheer the recovery.
You can see the tide starting to turn, if ever so slightly. College football Twitter aligned itself in Manning's corner after The Athletic promoted a story with a ludicrous headline suggesting Manning is the first flop in college football history.
What in the name of Garrett Gilbert and Max Browne are we doing here?
Manning would be the first flop in college football history — if this marked the first season of college football history. For those of us who followed this sport before 2025, we know Manning is not the first flop, or even the biggest flop. He's just the first Manning to flop.
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[ This column first published in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter , emailed free to your inbox. Want more commentary like this? Sign up here for our newsletter on SEC sports. ]
In the span of several weeks, Manning went from being one of college football's most-hyped players of all-time to one of its most ridiculed.
Season's not finished yet, and what better staging ground for the first chapter of a comeback story than the Red River Rivalry?
That's perhaps a nice thought, but the daunting truth is Oklahoma will be Manning's biggest test since the season opener against the Buckeyes , and there's scant evidence he's ready for it. Manning got sacked six times last week against Florida . Oklahoma sacked Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold nine times earlier this season.
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Gulp.
"This guy's got a lot of courage. He's got a lot of toughness," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said of his quarterback.
He'll need every ounce of toughness he can muster to withstand the Sooners .
"Does he need to play a little better? Sure," Sarkisian said. "Do we need to play better around him? No question."
Does Texas' offensive line need to protect him better? Absolutely.
Two-loss Texas lacks an identity, unless you consider a belly flop an identity. How's the ground game? Well, Manning leads the team in rushing, if that tells you anything.
Only Sam Houston State would describe the Texas defense as fierce.
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When Longhorns backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell trotted out for one play against Florida and threw a seed for a 26-yard completion, Texas had itself its very own quarterback controversy.
Except nobody puts Baby in the corner, and Sarkisian won't find the nerve to bench Manning with Texas' season on the line.
So it's up to Manning and his cohorts to supply a comeback story. If only they could get undefeated Oklahoma to play along.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas QB Arch Manning went from most-hyped player to most-ridiculed
