Start the Arch Manning for 2026 Heisman campaign after Citrus Bowl masterpiece

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Start the Arch Manning for 2026 Heisman campaign after Citrus Bowl masterpiece

Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY

Thu, Jan 1, 2026 ·

4 min read

Can't spell Citrus without U-T .

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Steve Spurrier's quip rings as true today as it did when he uncorked it in 1997 at the expense of Tennessee and Peyton Manning .

A different UT and another Manning finished a season at the Citrus Bowl. Say this much for the Mannings: They don't lose these also-ran bowl games in Orlando.

You ready for some more Arch Manning Heisman hype? Here comes another round, after Manning picked apart Michigan in this 41-27 bowl victory for Texas .

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Best of bowl season: Mascots, trophies, celebrations, Gatorade baths

Defensive back Tony-Louis Nkuba #21 of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates by jumping into an inflatable bowl of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes after intercepting a pass against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl game at Sun Bowl Stadium on December 31, 2025 in El Paso, Texas

Tony the Tiger stands on the field after the coin toss before a football game between Duke and Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) greats the Pop-Tarts mascots before the Pop-Tarts Bowl against the BYU Cougars at Camping World Stadium.

Pop-Tarts mascots celebrate with BYU Cougars after beating Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl mascots perform on the field before a game between the Michigan Wolverines and Texas Longhorns at Camping World Stadium.

Louisville Cardinals players celebrate after defeating the Toledo Rockets in the Boca Raton Bowl at Flagler CU Stadium.

Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch holds the LA Bowl championship belt presented by Rob Gronkowski after defeating the Boise State Broncos at SoFi Stadium.

Musical artist/rapper Snoop Dogg holds the championship trophy after the Fresno State Bulldogs defeated the Miami (OH) RedHawks 18-3 to win the 2025 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl at Casino Del Sol Stadium on December 27, 2025 in Tucson, Arizona.

Actor Keegan-Michael Key receives the game coin prior to the 2025 Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Toledo Rockets at Flagler Credit Union Stadium on December 23, 2025 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Comedians Theo Von, left, and Nate Bargatze watch from the sidelines during the first half of the ReliaQuest Bowl between Iowa Hawkeyes and Vanderbilt Commodores at Raymond James Stadium on December 31, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Head coach Jeff Traylor of the UTSA Roadrunners is doused with water by Jamel Hardy #13 during the fourth quarter against the FIU Panthers in the 2025 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on December 26, 2025 in Dallas, Texas.

Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken gets splashed with Powerade after Army beat UConn 41-16 in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park.

Interim head coach Drew Svoboda of the North Texas Mean Green is doused after his team defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 49-47 in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium on December 27, 2025 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Northwestern Wildcats players dump Gatorade on head coach David Braun of the Northwestern Wildcats after defeating the Central Michigan Chippewas in the 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on December 26, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.

Head coach John Hauser of the Ohio Bobcats is doused with water after winning the game against the UNLV Rebels at the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl at Ford Center on December 23, 2025 in Frisco, Texas.

Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott is doused with Gatorade after winning the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium Saturday December 27, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Virginia defeated Missouri 13-7.

Fresno State Bulldogs head coach Matt Entz is doused with gatorade after defeating the Miami (OH) RedHawks during the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

Head coach Clay Helton of the Georgia Southern Eagles receives a Powerade dunk after winning the JLab Birmingham Bowl by beating the Appalachian State Mountaineers 29-10 at Protective Stadium on December 29, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Interim Head Coach Terry M. Smith of the Penn State Nittany Lions lifts the championship trophy following the game against the Clemson Tigers during the 2025 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2025 in New York City.

BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) and head coach Kalani Sitake are presented a large pop-tart to eat after they beat the against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Camping World Stadium.

Ken Seals #9 of the TCU Horned Frogs celebrates with teammates after defeating the USC Trojans in the game at the Alamodome on December 30, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.

Head coach Willie Fritz of the Houston Cougars celebrates with the Texas Bowl Trophy after defeating the Louisiana State Tigers during the Kinder's Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on December 27, 2025 in Houston, Texas.

Conner Weigman #1 of the Houston Cougars is named Texas Bowl MVP during the Kinder's Texas Bowl against the Louisiana State Tigers at NRG Stadium on December 27, 2025 in Houston, Texas.

Maverick McIvor #7 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers reacts as he recieves the MVP trophy after his team defeated the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to win the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at Caesars Superdome on December 23, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Old Dominion Monarchs hoist the Cure Bowl trophy after beating the South Florida Bulls at Camping World Stadium.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks running back Khristian Lando (22) hoists the trophy as Troy Trojans take on Jacksonville State Gamecocks during the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. Jacksonville State Gamecocks defeated Troy Trojans 17-13.

Interim head coach Drew Svoboda of the North Texas Mean Green raises the championship trophy after his team defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 49-47 in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium on December 27, 2025 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Micah Alejado #12 of the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors holds up the Hawai'i Bowl Championship trophy after winning the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl over the California Golden Bears at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on December 24, 2025 in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

NC State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren receives the trophy after beating Memphis Tigers in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.

Buckle up, Arch Manning fuels some fresh Heisman hype

Manning concluded his seesawing first season as Texas' starter on a crescendo. He looks miles better than he did at the beginning of the season. Also, coach Steve Sarkisian gradually accepted he must embrace Manning's best quality — his speed. He'd smoke his uncles in a foot race. Manning rushed for a career-high 155 yards against Michigan.

Heisman voters relish a dual-threat quarterback. Just saying.

With three pass rushers in Manning's face and Texas trailing in the fourth quarter, he somehow wriggled out of trouble to move the chains on a pivotal fourth-down scramble. A few plays later, he tossed a go-ahead 30-yard touchdown strike.

Heisman moments! Just kidding. Manning will have to settle for a Citrus Bowl bow — for now, anyway.

Manning will put the NFL on hold to return to Texas in 2026. Buckle up for another offseason of Manning mania.

How did Texas fail to reach College Football Playoff? Good question

Let's learn from our past mistakes and keep the hyperbole in check, shall we? In the span of several weeks this fall, Manning went from being the nation's most ballyhooed quarterback with the famous surname to "a man synonymous with failure," if you believed the New York Times' absurd narrative .

Manning is not some superhuman blend of Tim Tebow meets Joe Burrow with a dash of Cam Newton . He's got talents of his own, though, and they were on full display against the Wolverines .

Manning played well enough that it remains difficult to understand why Texas' season ended here and not in the College Football Playoff.

What a waste, for Texas, of a talented roster backed by a well-funded war chest.

A Texas team good enough to beat Texas A&M, Oklahoma , Vanderbilt and Michigan should have reached the playoff and not lost three games, but the Longhorns were maddeningly inconsistent and not especially fundamentally sound.

In that way, Texas' bowl performance reflected the regular season that preceded it.

Texas, the SEC's most penalized team, attracted 12 flags in this one. Its wide receivers betrayed Manning by showing the holiday spirit hadn't softened their hands of stone. Michigan enjoyed some success working against a reconstructed Texas defense affected by opt-outs.

And, still, Manning played well enough that a Texas season marred by a few bad games, including a crippling flop in The Swamp, ended in triumph.

On its best day, Texas could look like one of the nation's 12-best teams. The Longhorns didn't make the playoff for a few reasons. For one, this CFP format isn't designed to produce the 12-best teams. Also, on any given Saturday, Texas was as likely to flop as it was to dazzle.

The same Texas team that looked miserable in a loss to Florida (which finished 4-8) and needed overtime to fend off Kentucky and Mississippi State beat four opponents that finished with at least nine wins.

Go figure.

Kyle Whittingham gets eyes on Bryce Underwood

Manning outplayed Michigan's Bryce Underwood, himself a former five-star quarterback recruit.

If Underwood returns to Michigan, new coach Kyle Whittingham must engineer more consistency than the Wolverines got from the true freshman. Underwood interspersed brilliance with blunders. Texas intercepted him three times.

Not unlike Manning, Underwood requires more wide receiver help, too. He also needs to gain some of the polish Manning acquired throughout his first season as Texas' starter.

Of course Manning would play well in Orlando. Uncle Peyton's career included two triumphs in the Citrus Bowl, while Spurrier's Gators played in more premier bowl games. Peyton came up just short of the Heisman Trophy in his final season at Tennessee.

Texas kept the UT in Citrus this season, but Arch isn't done yet.

Manning for 2026 Heisman? That campaign begins now.

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: Start the Arch Manning for 2026 Heisman campaign after Citrus Bowl masterpiece