Arch Manning Still Has Plenty to Prove Despite Texas’ No. 1 Ranking

Arch Manning has come a long way since his inauspicious debut as the full-time starter last August.

He grew into the immense pressure he faced because of his last name and the hype surrounding him being the top-ranked recruit in the 2023 class, with 1,368 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception in his final five games of the 2025 campaign.

And he’s carried that over to the first three games of the 2026 season. A Texas squad that started last season at No. 1 before missing the College Football Playoff is now back up to No. 1 after its thrilling 24-23 win over then-No. 1 Ohio State which saw Manning lead three fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

Through three games of his fourth season at Texas, Manning has 664 passing yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

But he still isn’t quite living up to all of the hype he had no choice but to deal with due to his multiple generations of NFL ties.

Manning still needs to prove it

Look at his performance in Saturday’s 30-6 win over UTSA. He completed just 17 of 33 passes (51.5%) for 164 yards.

Mind you, he’s surrounded by some of the best talent in college football. With a pair of sensational receivers in Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman, a pair of coveted running back transfers in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown and a much improved offensive line from a season ago, he’s guiding one of the highest-paid rosters in the nation.

Manning admitted postgame that he knows that performances like he delivered against the Roadrunners won’t help the Longhorns reach their goals this season.

"(My performance was) not good enough," Manning said after the game. "I didn't play well. Offense, we were a little sloppy. We've got to be better if we want to beat Tennessee."

It’s true of more than just this week’s Southeastern Conference opener in Knoxville against the 14th-ranked Volunteers. That game begins a stretch of six of the next seven games set to be played against currently ranked teams.

The only game against an unranked team in that stretch? Texas’ rivalry game against an Oklahoma team that started the season ranked 10th before falling out of the poll this week after consecutive subpar performances.

That brutal schedule ahead -- paving the path for what should be a CFP appearance -- leaves Manning plenty of chances to prove he’s worthy of consideration of being the No. 1 pick in next April’s NFL Draft.

Because while that has been discussed as a near-certainty since he was a budding prospect, he hasn’t yet shown much in terms of production which makes that likely to happen.