At 4-2 and coming off of back-to-back losses to unranked opponents, Texas Longhorns has already exhausted its margin for error to make the College Football Playoff at the midway point of the season. As the Longhorns get set to face No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday, the pressure is on Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning to perform, and the latter's hold on the starting job in Austin has never been more tenuous. Sarkisian's seat has warmed up considerably in Austin in what was supposed to be a make-or-break year for the Longhorns, who invested heavily to give Sark one of the nation's most talented (and expensive) rosters.
While there's a chance Texas can make it into the College Football Playoff with three losses, the Longhorns' schedule still includes road trips to Mizzou and LSU, making this week in Austin a near must-win. Sarkisian is fully aware of that, and while Manning will be back under center to start the game, there aren't guarantees he'll finish it. "Arch can play better for us; he's our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning," Sarkisian said Monday.
"Like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team right now. We need to see a better version of him this week." Backup quarterback K.J. Lacey split the first-team reps with Manning this week and would be prepared to come into the game if called upon.
With Texas' playoff hopes on the line, Manning's leash has never been shorter, and Texas will hope he can step up under pressure and deliver the kind of performance the Longhorn faithful have been imagining since he arrived four years ago. It is rather jarring that we are at this tipping point with Manning, but with an elite defense that's now without its best player, Colin Simmons, the onus shifts to the offense to pick up the slack and finally give the defense some much-needed support. Manning, in his fourth year playing for the Longhorns, was supposed to be one of the nation's best signal-callers and a top NFL prospect, but instead has been maddeningly inconsistent, and the Texas offense has followed his lead.
The Longhorns lead the SEC in three-and-out rate, and their inability to stay on the field has put their defense in tough positions and caused them to wear down and fatigue as the game goes on.Manning's Jekyll and Hyde routine has worn down Texas fans and, seemingly, Sarkisian, who hasn't been able to break Manning's worst habits. The highs are incredibly high, with enough phenomenal passes down the field to make up a tantalizing highlight reel. But the lows are equally low, with woeful turnovers and missed opportunities raising questions about Manning's ability to lead Texas to the kind of team success they seek.
We saw last week in Ann Arbor that even the highest-paid quarterbacks can get benched if things get bad enough, as Michigan sat Bryce Underwood after another brutal half of football. If Texas is going to do the same, it'll be because the offense continues to be stuck in the mud, Manning is the culprit for their problems (possibly with a turnover or two), and they find themselves trailing Ole Miss in a must-win spot at home. What may scare Texas fans the most is that Manning's issues have been most apparent in the second half of their last two losses.
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