Texas has had a brutal last couple of weeks, suffering back-to-back 27-24 losses to Oklahoma and Florida, both at home. The Longhorns entered the season as national championship contenders, and beat then-No. 1 Ohio State in Week 2, pushing them to the top of the national rankings. But two straight losses to unranked opponents are hard to justify.
Arch Manning threw two interceptions in the Oklahoma game, including one late in the fourth quarter that set up the Sooners' game-winning field goal. A week later, Texas let another opportunity slip away as Manning went 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked five times and fumbled on the Longhorns' final possession. The last two losses have intensified scrutiny on Manning as well as head coach Steve Sarkisian to figure out the offense.
As a result, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday that Texas is expected to increase the number of first-team practice reps for redshirt freshman quarterback KJ Lacey this week. Manning is still expected to start, but Sarkisian said after the Florida loss that everything was going to be evaluated, and this latest move signals that might include who's going to be starting under center for Texas going forward. More news: Notre Dame Faces Must-Win Miami Clash After BYU Disaster Manning came into this season with enormous expectations.
The Longhorns began the year ranked No. 1 in the country, and Manning was viewed as a potential Heisman contender. But through six games, he's completed 63.9% of his passes for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions, along with just 102 rushing yards. Those numbers aren't disastrous, but they're well off pace from what other top quarterbacks are producing, and he's been responsible now for multiple costly mistakes down the stretch of games.
His decision-making, pocket awareness, and turnovers have become serious concerns for the Longhorns as they head into the back half of the college football season. More news: Tennessee Bracing for SEC Punishment After Upsetting Alabama More news: USC President’s Terse Response to Lincoln Riley’s Future Speaks Volumes Texas is now 4-2 overall and 1-2 in SEC play, which has dropped them to No. 19 in the AP Top 25. Simply put, they can't afford any more losses if they want to make the College Football Playoff, let alone compete for a national title.
Next up, they'll host No. 7 Ole Miss, followed by Mississippi State and then two tough road matchups at Missouri and LSU. How Manning performs against the Rebels on Saturday could very well determine his fate as Texas' starting quarterback.
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