Jeff Howe

I really want to dunk on them, but I don't want to direct people to the article and give it any further attention. It was a worthless take then and it has aged like a dirty diaper.

A good way to finish my first season as a member of the OTF crew.

That's pretty dang impressive.

Maybe Sark really wasn't BS'ing us about Arch getting clocked at 20-plus MPH a few years ago.

It's still interesting that he's much better when it's a dropback game and he can scan the field and deliver the ball. He's gotten better on RPO's and setting guys up for YAC situations as the season has gone on, but that's an area where he can get better in '26.

Of all of the things I least expected to happen to Texas during the 2025 season, there’s no way I would’ve called Arch Manning and Christian Clark to be the two Longhorns who’d go over 100 yards rushing in the same game. Nevertheless, Manning led Texas with 155 yards and two touchdowns in Wednesday’s 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. But it was Clark’s 105-yard effort on 20 carries that paced the Longhorn rushing attack, which churned out 235 yards, one yard shy of a season high (236 yards against Sam Houston). Clark’s 22-yard burst over the right side of the line on his first carry set the tone for the biggest day of the redshirt freshman’s young career. He gained some much-needed confidence right out of the gate. His ability to be patient and then to stick a foot in the ground to get vertical (with a gear he didn’t show earlier in the season) made Clark the right man to get the baton from Quintrevion Wisner as the lead dog in the Texas running game. It’s fair to wonder if Clark should’ve gotten more carries throughout the season. Regardless, he rose to the occasion in such a manner that the Longhorns might consider allocating resources elsewhere in the transfer portal if they view Clark as someone who can handle a more significant role. (Running back will still be a top priority, but could Clark be a key rotational piece around a true No. 1 runner?) *** The Texas (10-3) offensive line didn’t dominate the Wolverines at the point of attack. Seven of the Longhorns’ 33 official rushing attempts were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, and Manning’s 60-yard game-clinching touchdown run elevated the rushing yardage total. Still, even with Michigan (9-4) recording five tackles for loss on Wednesday, Kyle Flood’s group ended the season by allowing seven total sacks against seven ranked opponents. The Wolverines became the Longhorns' second ranked foe this season to come up empty trying to sack Manning (Vanderbilt was also shut out in the sack department). Whether Trevor Goosby comes back or not, Wednesday’s game made for a solid sendoff for a group that’s going to lose D.J. Campbell, Cole Huston and possibly Connor Robertson. *** It’s a shame Emmett Mosley V (five catches for 51 yards) was injured late in the first half and couldn’t return. He displayed impressively strong hands and the kind of decisiveness in the quick game that could make him a more versatile weapon than he got a chance to show he could be in his first season with the program. *** If the Citrus Bowl is the last game for Jack Endries as a Longhorn, it was one in which he made a difference. His five receptions for 35 yards included a touchdown catch that saw him impressively hang onto the ball after getting popped in the end zone. *** It wasn’t always pretty on defense, especially throughout the third and into the fourth quarter when Michigan started to control the game. A big part of that was Bryce Underwood (199 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, three total touchdowns and two interceptions) taking advantage of available, open throws underneath, eating into a 9.3 to-go distance on third down (a 4-for-15 night on third down) to set the Wolverines up for a 5-for-6 night on fourth down. But when the dust settled, Texas finished plus-2 in the turnover margin (3-1) thanks to a pair of big second-half interceptions by Ty’Anthony Smith (a game-high nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry) and a red-zone pick by Wardell Mack. *** Colin Simmons (one sack and two tackles for loss) impacted the game, especially when he could pin his ears back and attack the Wolverines' tackles. His season-long total of 12 sacks as a sophomore ties him with Tony Degrate (1984), Kiki De Ayala (1981) and Steve McMichael (1977) for eighth on the school’s single-season list (with 21 career sacks, Simmons’ next one will move him into a tie for 12th place on the program’s career charts). *** While I’m thrilled that the Longhorns got the win and developed a lot of guys during bowl season who will be expected to take on more significant roles in 2026, three things must change before the start of next season: — Even though the officiating left a lot to be desired on Wednesday (including two controversial Michigan touchdowns confirmed by the ACC crew after going under the hood for a review), a season-high-tying 12 penalties for 104 yards isn’t how I wanted this team to end the season. I don’t know what Steve Sarkisian needs to do to fix the penalty problem, but Texas must find a way to play cleaner, more disciplined football next season. — Outside of Mason Shipley’s 2-for-2 night on field goals (43 and 51 yards, respectively), the kicking game was a disaster. It took the Longhorns entirely too long to stop kicking the ball to Andrew Marsh (163 all-purpose yards, only 10 of which came on offense) and Ryan Niblett’s fumble on a kickoff return, which set up Michigan’s first touchdown, was the only turnover of the game. The offense and defense did enough to overcome the net negative contributions from the special teams, a phase of the game in which entirely too many penalties were committed through 13 games. — I appreciated the effort of guys like Smith, Mack, Graceson Littleton (six tackles and a pass breakup), Warren Roberson (five tackles and a pass breakup), Kade Phillips (eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup), Bo Barnes (three tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack) and Jelani McDonald (seven tackles), who threw their bodies around in the name of making plays (Roberson came painfully close to forcing a touchback on Underwood's fourth-quarter touchdown run and Mack's interception was preceeded by a sudden move to cornerback with Roberson and Kobe Black unavailable at the time). Still, the challenge for Will Muschamp will be to maximize a dynamic pass rush while tightening up coverage and eliminating the easy throws, of which there were too many available for Underwood on Wednesday. *** The unsavory aspects of Wednesday’s game aside, Texas rides into the offseason with a 10th win on the strength of a monster game from Manning, with changes afoot to help the Longhorns get back into the College Football Playoff. With that as the backdrop, I’ll worry about the transfer portal and how Muschamp will fill out the defensive staff after savoring this one for a bit. The 2025 season didn’t play out the way Longhorn fans wanted it to or hoped it would. Thankfully, an undermanned squad of fewer than 70 scholarship players gave everyone something to feel good about heading into 2026. View full news story

Throughout the 2025 season, whenever I’ve been asked to describe or define the identity of the Texas offense, my answer hasn’t changed. It's Arch Manning. When the Longhorns started a critical fourth-quarter drive in Wednesday’s 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, with Texas (10-3) facing a 27-24 deficit with 10:56 remaining in regulation, @Rod Babers wondered out loud during our watch along whether Steve Sarkisian would focus on players or plays to move the football. Immediately after Manning’s fourth-and-2 scramble for 15 yards, which preceded his 30-yard touchdown strike to Kaliq Lockett for the go-ahead score, we had our answer. “Arch is the play!” he said. Just like he did in leading the Longhorns to wins over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in the regular season, Sarkisian chose to lean on Manning’s playmaking ability in the clutch. And, once again, Manning delivered, including a 60-yard touchdown scamper with 5:06 to play, which served as the final nail in the Wolverines’ coffin. Manning played turnover-free football in the Longhorns’ four wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. With his four-touchdown outing against Michigan (9-4), Manning (21-for-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns; nine rushing attempts for 155 yards and two scores en route to Citrus Bowl MVP honors) accounted for 10 total touchdowns (seven passing and three rushing) while quarterbacking Texas to wins over the Wolverines, Sooners, Commodores and Aggies. Even though he was bruised and bleeding in the fourth quarter, a time in which an offense that was already playing without Quintrevion Wisner and DeAndre Moore Jr. had to adjust on the fly when injuries took Emmett Mosley V (five catches for 51 yards) and Ryan Wingo (64 yards on four receptions) out of the lineup, Manning did something in Wednesday’s win that every great Longhorn quarterback has done at some point. His presence, playmaking ability and will to win elevated inexperienced weapons like Lockett and Christian Clark (105 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries) to a level nobody who’s watched Texas this season could’ve predicted was possible. Those who follow the program have had a front-row seat to watch Manning’s season-long trajectory throughout. As the curtain falls on Manning’s redshirt sophomore campaign, his performance and production are in line with what a lot of folks unfairly expected he’d show from the outset in 2025. He’ll take a 12-3 record as a starting quarterback into the 2026 season, one in which the Longhorns will be expected to contend for a berth in the College Football Playoff. While Sarkisian and the Texas organization will dive into the transfer portal to build a roster capable of standing tall after navigating a nine-game SEC schedule, nobody can question whether or not the Longhorns have a championship-caliber quarterback. Texas will enter 2026 with a quarterback who has a legitimate case to be labeled as college football’s top gunslinger. View full news story

Using bowl games to judge the strength of a conference was flawed logic before the NIL/portal era of college football. It's an insanely idiotic approach in 2025.

You deserve an award for valor if you made it to the "Eyes of Texas" against Miami.

Six sacks allowed.

I didn't mention it in the article, but Arch didn't turn the ball over in any of the top-10 wins Texas had during the regular season.