Steve Sarkisian calls out Peyton, Eli Manning when discussing Arch Manning's performance vs. UTSA
Arch Manning quickly became the story of the night in Austin after Quinn Ewers‘ injury. For the first time in his career, Manning was playing an extended period of meaningful snaps. Texas was already up by multiple scores but the quarterback change occurred early in the second quarter.
Results for Texas were fantastic, even against an opponent such as UTSA. Manning threw for 223 yards on just nine completions with four touchdowns and maybe most importantly, no turnovers. You can add another touchdown on the ground too.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian gave his evaluation of Manning, discussing the tough circumstances surrounding backup quarterbacks entering the game. Given the scenario, a positive review for Manning from Sarkisian.
“I think Arch is always ready to play,” Sarkisian said postgame with ESPN’s Quint Kessenich. “We push these guys every day in practice, we make it really competitive. I thought he came and really did a nice job tonight.”
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The most impressive play of the night was definitely Manning rushing for a 67-yard touchdown. Just his third play of the night, the quarterback added something to the highlight reel we are not used to seeing from somebody with his last name.
Sarkisian decided to poke fun at Manning’s two uncles, Peyton and Eli, for the play — something FOX’s Emmanuel Acho and former ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III did as well.
“I think he’s a better athlete than people think,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s got his grandpa’s athleticism. I don’t think he got his uncles.”
From just looking at their career rushing yards in the NFL, you might be able to tell who was considered an athlete in the Manning family. Archie finished three yards short over 2,200 in his NFL career over 13 years. If you combine the rushing totals of Peyton and Eli, they are around 1,000 yards short of their father.
When watching Arch in open space on Saturday against UTSA and reflecting on what his two uncles looked like in the NFL, Sarkisian decided to have the jokes ready to roll.
There was more to the game than just Manning playing. Sarkisian was happy with how Texas looked on both sides of the ball, citing the efficiency. As any coach would, a few mistakes made throughout the game were mentioned.
“I think we’re being efficient on both sides of the ball,” Sarkisian said. “We gave up a long run, we stubbed our toe a couple times in the red area. But I thought our guys played well tonight.”