View from the Cheap Seats-Cheezit Citrus Bowl

[echeese]

View from the Cheap Seats-Michigan

 

Horns are the Cheeziest

The Arch Manning Show. What a fantastic performance, and precisely what Horn fans expected every week. It took young Arch more than a few games to settle in, and even after that, there were a couple of less-than-great performances. Please make no mistake, Arch finished VERY STRONG in his 6 of TEXAS last 8 games, starting with the Red River War. And he saved the very best for last vs the Aggies, then Michigan, where he would earn the Citrus Bowl MVP, just like his Uncle 28 years before.

 

This game was very back-and-forth until the 4th quarter. You had the feeling that TEXAS was the better team but too many mistakes, fumbles, penalties and dropped passes, which seemed to allow Michigan to hang around. TEXAS’ most pleasant surprise of the game was the strong running by Christian Clark, returning from serious injuries in 2024 and good offensive line play. Late in the 3rd quarter, Arch took off on 23 and 60 yard TD runs while the D came up with 3 INTs. Mack’s inside the 10 INT snuffed out a strong Michigan drive then Ty’Anthony Smith closed out the game for the D with two big interceptions of his own. On the 1st play after the 2nd of Smith’s INTs in the 4th, Arch drops back, sees the D part like the Red Sea and took off on his 60 yard run which was the game’s back breaker. We must commend Arch, he would take the yards that were there, then get down or go out of bounds.

 

Let the hype begin for 2026 as the Jones Boys announcing have already deemed him the 2026 Heisman favorite. A pair we generally enjoy watching the game but they had us diving for the dictionary with some of the YUGE words they tossed out.

 

And just like that, it’s over. A season that began with far too much hype and expectations ended entirely too quickly. A season of massive highs, early lows, and a very robust finish. Going for an early “silver lining”, in SEC play, TEXAS is now 6-0 against their traditional rivals and, for the 2nd year in a row, knocked the Aggies out of the SEC title game, a game they have never qualified for. Still, 2025 was overhyped as a “deep playoff run” type of year, with TEXAS starting the season ranked #1 in the polls, with Arch Manning the preseason favorite to win the Heisman. If this season was playoffs or bust, then the reality is, TEXAS busted. We consider the season more of a letdown than a failure, but we remained concerned about some systemic problems that continue to bite TEXAS in the butt.

 

So many want to claim the bowls are “meaningless”. Someone might want to tell the players because this bowl season has produced some great games, with the Citrus-Cheezit Bowl being one of them. Two of the Top 5 most successful teams of all time came out to prove something and put on a show. We should mention, 2 of the best helmets in college football as well. Guess the players missed the message the game was meaningless. Manning was the #1 recruit in the 2023 season while Michigan’s signal caller, Bryce Underwood, was this year #1 recruit. Not hard to see why, as he is talented. Give Manning experience, the difference in him having a much better day.

 

Offensive Player of the Game (and the Year)

Arch Manning. The Cheez-it/Citrus Bowl MVP threw for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for 155 to lead all rushers and 2 touchdowns. When not taking off and running, his pocket movement to extend plays was notable and contributed to him not being sacked.

 

Honorable Mention: Christian Clark made a statement. His return from injury certainly was a major factor in the win. 20 carries and 105 yards for 5.2 ypc and a TD were key to the offense.

Defensive player of the Game:

Ty’Anthony Smith’s two 4th quarter interceptions iced the game on the D side of the ball. He would lead all tacklers and add a tackle for loss.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Collin Simmons by a nose over Anthony “Ant” Hill who missed the last 3 games. Both 2nd team All-Americans

Special teams player of the game:

? Nope,not this week

Special teams Player of the Year

All-American Returner Ryan Nibblet

 

Stats that Matter

 

• 7.1/235 Rushing YPC and total yards. This team wins when it can run the ball
• 0-3 TEXAS coming off bye weeks or extended layoffs. Head scratcher
• 12-103 Penalties and yards given up vs Michigan. Over the past 4 years, TEXAS has steadily become one of the most penalized teams in the nation, going from #65 to #132.
• 1-3 Turnovers lost vs turnovers gained.  TEXAS would score 10 off the three turnovers and the Mack INT (1st one) snuffed out a deep Michigan drive.
• 73 TEXAS finished #73 in the nation in 3rd down conversions. 3 of the past 4 seasons have been in the 70s. A point of comparison, Indiana ranks #1 and 7 other playoff teams rank in the Top 30.

 

Award winners 2025:

 

Michael Taffe-Wuerful Award, Community Servant of the Year, 1st team (AFCA) All American, 2nd team (FWAA) and 3rd team (AP). 1st team All SEC (Coaches)

 

Anthony “Ant” Hill-2nd team All American (AFCA, AP, FWAA), 1st team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

Collin Simmons, 2nd team All-American (AFCA, Sporting News and WCFF), 1st team All-SEC (coaches)

 

Ryan Niblett, 1st team All-American (FWAA),

 

2nd Team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

Trevor Goosby, 1st team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

Ryan Wingo, 2nd team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

Malik Muhammed, 2nd team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

DJ Campbell, 3rd team All-SEC (Coaches)

 

Lance Jackson, All-SEC Freshman Team (where in the wide, wide world of sports was Graceson Littleton???)

 

On Deck 2026

Don’t look now, but TEXAS’ schedule gets even harder in 2026. The Cheeziest Bowl certainly addressed both some questions and concerns. Christian Clark had an impressive performance, so we know who RB1 is for now. This does not mean there will not be competition. Competition makes everyone better.

#1 question today on offense, does Trevor Goosby come back? If so, OT is covered, but two interior starters are out of eligibility.

#2 Question is Jake Endries possible return. He fell out of the game plan at times during the season, though we are not blaming him, as he neither calls the plays nor throws the ball. He is a weapon, but only if we utilize him.

#3a question: clearly, the D backslid at times in 2025. Coach PK was fired to accommodate Coach Boom's return.

#3b, can we find 2-3 interior offensive linemen for 2026 in the portal, assuming Goosby returns? And can Coach Flood, coach up the young recruits. The OL did play very well vs both Aggie and Michigan.

#4 Three major special teams concerns: we are losing a very good punter and kicker, and our coverage teams look weak against Michigan.

#5 The back 6-8 of the D lacks experience, though they are long on talent. Who will step up at Safety, and can we find a linebacker to pair with Ty’Anthony Smith?

So we have discussed our biggest concerns for 2026, which has TEXAS facing an even more daunting lineup, let’s focus on what we are excited about.

#1 ise asy, Arch Manning is showing us why the hype was real. In a pre-game interview, he said his play had improved after he stopped trying to force things and let the game come to him. Some call that the game “slowing down” for a player. He is a threat both as a runner and a passer.

 

#2 TXAS’ front 4. Collin Simmons is a beast, while Lance Jackson is showing he’ll be a major factor as well. The interior of the DLine looks strong for 2026

#3 We think the WRs will be a strength in 2026 even though we lose the #2 pass catcher to the NFL. One of our concerns about Sark is that he eschews a heavy WR rotation despite so many talented players, and without reps, it’s hard to grow.

 

#4 We especially like the TE room and hope that Endries stays for one more year. We think he can be special

Fortunately, TEXAS will not have to open the season ranked #1. We expect TEXAS to finish in the Top 10 this year and open 2026 between 5 and 10. What TEXAS does in the portal will be interesting to watch and determine whether the Horns are a true playoff contender or hanging around as another 9-3 type team. Can Coach Boom get the D back to the standards Coach PK set over the past few years? We think yes. We think the O will be better than 2025, which isn’t a high bar, as in 2025, we finished #44 in scoring. Keys to that growth will be Arch’s continued development, an improved running game, and fewer drive-killing penalties. Couple of key stats to watch are significant improvement with both a reduction in penalties and improved 3rd down conversions.

To be clear, we like most of what Sark is doing at TEXAS. He has to do a better job of self-evaluation; he needs to continue to build the offense around the skill sets of his players, and he needs to “break” some of his tendencies. By his own admission, he is very stubborn. Hopefully, 2025 serves as a wake-up call. We think he can improve in these areas to help take the next step.

We’re calling it 10-2 with a return to the playoffs for 2026 despite a tough schedule. An outstanding season would be going 12-1, winning the SEC, and a deep playoff run. On the flip side, we are seeing 9-3 as the floor but that means another New Year's Day/Eve bowl.

We have also just learned that Paker Livingstone is entering the transfer portal and frankly find this surprising. Meanwhile Emmit Mosley the 5th (V) is back. this is very good news as he was an underutilized weapon (though he started the season injured)

 

Highlights

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DALKiP-uYg

[Califashorn75]

Good job Cheese! 

[Jarveaux]

There is a difference in intending to do something & actually doing it . wouldn’t you agree ?  The way i see it is he’s hasn’t entered the portal he intends to . But he can change his mind & not enter . Correct?