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Texas needs to make Arch Manning’s life easier — and Steve Sarkisian knows it

by: Evan Vieth10/06/25
Arch Manning, Texas
© Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Different stat providers disagree about pressure numbers from the Texas vs. Florida game. Some have it in the 20s, while PFF claims Florida pressured Texas QB Arch Manning a whopping 35 times.

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No matter what the number says, the tape is clear: Manning’s life is far too difficult right now.

The Longhorns have had a number of faults on offense, mostly revolving around the run game and the offensive line, that showed up in bunches on Saturday. Texas had just 13 rushing yards from the backs. Manning himself nearly had six times that number.

The offense as a whole committed nine penalties, and the offensive line was abysmal in both phases of blocking. From a personnel and performance standpoint, the Longhorns couldn’t have made life harder for Manning, who still managed to create 337 yards and three touchdowns worth of offense.

“We’ve got to minimize the self-inflicted wounds from an offensive perspective,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “To me, one of the biggest storylines of the game was the line of scrimmage. Six sacks to none. Their ability to run the ball, our inability to run the ball created all of the other opportunities in the game, created their explosive plays in the pass game, and allowed them to rush the quarterback on our end.”

But Sarkisian knows that there’s more than just the players’ performance to blame.

While he can’t control his players like a Madden game, he is in charge of how the offense operates and what plays are run. On that end of things, the Longhorns also failed.

Sarkisian struggled to set up efficient plays on first and second down often, leading to many third-and-long situations. Texas was 3-for-11 on third down and didn’t even attempt a fourth-down conversion.

“We’ve got to put ourselves at more manageable third downs. And it doesn’t matter what league you’re in, from the Little League to the NFL, when you play third-and-nine-plus football, the percentages over time tell you your odds of converting a first down go down dramatically,” Sarkisian said.

Sark also knows that his run game won’t turn around overnight. There needs to be more ways Texas can find those positives on early downs.

“We’ve got to be creative. We’ve got to find more ways to be creative that way to get positive yards on first and second down,” Sarkisian said. “There are a lot of different ways to get that done. We’ve got to have enough in our toolbox on Saturday to be able to get there.”

Sarkisian’s job won’t be easy. Texas goes from a strong Florida defense to an elite one from Oklahoma. The Sooners are at or near the top of several SEC defensive statistics, something Sarkisian acknowledged in his press conference.

With multiple future NFL players on the Oklahoma defensive line, the X factor to Texas’ success will be making Manning and the offensive line’s life easier.

“Every game’s got its own formula for success for us and how we’re going to try to attack an opponent, and the flow of the game then dictates where you start leaning into and where you start going,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to be more creative to find ways to get some of those easier completions.”

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