Film Room: Evaluating all 12 Arch Manning pass attempts versus UTSA
When Quinn Ewers exited the No. 1 Texas Longhorns’ game against the UTSA Roadrunners, the 100,000-plus in attendance rose to their feet for Arch Manning‘s first extended action in a game where the outcome was not fully determined. Right away, he made an impact.
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Manning fired a touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore to put the Longhorns up 21-0 and start a hyper-efficient day. Manning was 9-for-12 for 223 yards and four touchdowns and added a 67-yard rushing score that brought the crowd to its feet and garnered the attention of the nation.
Overall, it was a day Steve Sarkisian approved of.
“As a backup, you have to be ready to go,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I thought Arch performed really, really well for us. He ran our offense. He looked poised and composed. There were some learning curves in there, a couple of things to learn from, but at the end of the day I thought he played at a high level and he’s getting some of the honors for that.”
Here’s how Manning fared through the air.
Pass 1: 2nd and 9 on the +19 (Q2)
19-yard completion to DeAndre Moore for a touchdown
“Even his first play in, that was his third read,” Sarkisian said Monday. “DeAndre was his third read. We were actually trying to get Isaiah Bond in the flat. They guarded him. Then we were trying to hit Gunnar (Helm) on a corner, they guarded him. Then he found DeAndre on the over route. That was encouraging that on his first play in he was getting to his third read.”
It’s hard to tell if this is a RPO. If it is, Manning not only makes the right initial read by pulling the football, he also makes a good first and second read by not throwing to Bond or Helm. Moore is open, and the second-year wide receiver hustles into the end zone for a well-deserved first score.
Pass 2: 1st and 10 on the -4 (Q2)
Incompletion intended for Matthew Golden
In between the touchdown pass and this toss, Manning had an unsuccessful rush on a zone read keeper and then was sacked for a loss of 10 yards. Here on some sort of downfield route, Manning tries to throw it to Golden on an out-and-up but the pressure up the middle makes that a tough task. No harm, no foul in the end, but a risky and inaccurate throw nonetheless.
“Got pressured on the backed-up throw,” Sarkisian said Monday. “We were trying to hit the ball down our sidelines. Looked errant, but just got hit on it.”
Pass 3: 1st and 10 on the -14 (Q2)
Incompletion intended for DeAndre Moore
Moore functions as the second read on this play with the fly route from the field side as the primary read. It’s an errant throw by a second-year player. There’s a window there, Manning just doesn’t hit it.
“I thought he missed a throw to DeAndre Moore a little bit later on kind of a corner route,” Sarkisian said. “Human nature. Sometimes we don’t throw it perfect.”
Pass 4: 2nd and 10 on the -14 (Q2)
-3-yard completion to DeAndre Moore
Helm misses a block here, but credit is due to Martavius French for staying aggressive on the tunnel screen instead of following the bubble.
Pass 5: 3rd and 13 on the -11 (Q2)
9-yard completion to Jerrick Gibson
This looks like four verts where Manning just decides to take the checkdown via a sidearm throw. Nice decision, nothing spectacular. Brings up a punt.
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Pass 6: 2nd and 3 on the -32 (Q3)
Incompletion intended for Ryan Niblett
Another play where credit is due to UTSA for a well-timed blitzed from the Roadrunners. That’s not the most concerning part of this play, as a good blitz happens. That’s not a block Golden should whiff horribly on. Luckily, the tipped ball does not get caught, and Texas gets another chance from this down and distance.
Pass 7: 3rd and 3 on the -32 (Q3)
20-yard completion to Matthew Golden
Manning put it on the hands of a play-making wide receiver. No. 5 French is an inside linebacker, and Manning and Golden do a good job of taking advantage of a Sarkisian-generated mismatch. Golden does an excellent job of evading the tackles and gets upfield for a nice 20-yard gain.
Pass 8: 2nd and 13 on the -49 (Q3)
51-yard completion to Isaiah Bond for a touchdown
Sometimes it’s that easy.
Pass 9: 1st and 10 on the -25 (Q3)
75-yard completion to Ryan Wingo for a touchdown
“On the touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, he takes a really good shot,” Sarkisian said. “Two guys come and hit him late on the delivery. He’s able to stand in there. He didn’t flinch, and he delivered the touchdown pass. Definitely encouraged by that.”
Pass 10: 3rd and 17 on the -29 (Q3)
4-yard completion to Johntay Cook
French and Tai Leonard make solid hustle plays here. Blocking is decent but not great.
Pass 11: 2nd and 8 on the -47 (Q4)
36-yard completion to Ryan Wingo
Reads on Sarkisian play-action plays often go deep to middle to close. When Manning saw Wingo in one-on-one coverage, that was all the information he needed to make the throw. Not only was he proven right by Wingo’s quality reception, but double coverage on both his mid-range read and his checkdown shows Manning made the right decision to look for his teammate to make a play. That Wingo did, as Texas moved up 36 yards in a flash thanks to a redshirt freshman and a true freshman.
Pass 12: 2nd and 5 on the +12 (Q4)
12-yard completion to Johntay Cook for a touchdown
The last one, and maybe the best one. Slot fade coaching points are simple as coaches typically say “just throw it to the back pylon.”
Manning did exactly that. Cook was there to grab the football just before it hit the base of the back pylon. When you draw up passing offense, this is what you envision.
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With Ewers described as questionable by Sarkisian on Monday, Manning could earn his first career start on Saturday against ULM. If he continues to play at the same level, the Warhawks are likely to meet a fate similar to that of the Roadrunners.
