The ups and downs for Arch Manning as the Texas Longhorns' starter continued in their loss to the Florida Gators on Saturday.
The Longhorns were held to just seven points on offense until late in the third quarter ,when Manning connected with Ryan Wingo on a 38-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Gators' lead to 22-14. The Gators responded with a touchdown of their own, and as Manning and the Longhorns tried coming back, he threw two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter, preventing any chance of pulling out a victory.
Manning, who was 16-of-29 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, had some nice moments in the game—like his touchdown pass to Wingo or the plays he makes with his legs—but he also missed several other throws and turned the ball over twice. It's still early in Manning's time as a full-time college starter, but outside of a five-touchdown performance against Sam Houston, he has fallen short of the lofty expectations set for him.
Despite another inconsistent outing, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian walked away from the game impressed with Manning's toughness in a challenging situation.
"I found out he's a tough dude. He fought his ass off Saturday," Sarkisian told reporters on Monday. "Those were not ideal conditions for a quarterback to perform under. Is there a couple of throws he'd love to have back? Of course, but he stood in there and he showed a lot of contact courage taking hits, delivering the ball."
Sarkisian continued, "There were some really impressive throws in there and he battled until the very end. I think he learned about himself as much as we learned about him. This guy's got a lot of courage, he's got a lot of toughness. I think he gained a lot of respect from his teammates, which is a great thing."
Conditions were certainly far from perfect for Manning. Texas was playing at "The Swamp," one of the tougher places to play in college football, and the defense gave up over 450 yards of offense. In addition, Manning was sacked six times and also finished as the team's leading rusher.
Still, there's plenty of room for Manning to play better, and he'll need to for the Longhorns to have a shot when they take on No. 6 Oklahoma this weekend.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Sarkisian Had Optimistic View of Arch Manning's Play in Loss to Florida.
