Arch Manning and Texas grew up in the Cotton Bowl — and might have saved their season

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DALLAS — Some 10 minutes after “Texas Fight” played and the clock hit triple zeroes Saturday, Arch Manning lingered near midfield at the Cotton Bowl.

The 21-year-old quarterback signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans, while a small handful of his Longhorns teammates nearby continued to celebrate reclaiming the Golden Hat with their 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma.

As Manning made his way toward the end zone tunnel — pausing to flash the Hook ’em Horns sign for every selfie-requesting fan along the way — he stopped around the 5-yard line. Among those he embraced was his father, Cooper. The two exchanged smiles and words for a few moments before Manning jogged into the tunnel, flashing the horns one more time.

Texas can exhale, at least for now. Following a week of criticism and questions surrounding Manning, the offensive line and why the preseason No. 1 team played poorly enough to fall out of the Top 25, Manning and the Longhorns saved their season with a critical win and grew up in the process.

“We saw the true character of the men in that locker room today, their connectivity, their love for one another,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to succumb to the outside noise. And there was a lot of s— getting talked about our team, and I think they responded.”

Texas (4-2) showed why it was too early to completely dismiss its College Football Playoff chances and why it was too soon to make a definitive verdict on its quarterback.

BACK-TO-BACK RED RIVER WINNERS 🤘@TexasFootball takes down No. 6 Oklahoma at Cotton Bowl Stadium 😤 pic.twitter.com/5XAknnJwOa

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 11, 2025

No, Manning is not a flop. Those who have closely monitored his play know that, after having his roughest outing in a Week 3 win over UTEP, the redshirt sophomore has shown progress and growth since.

He regained his confidence in a near flawless performance in a Week 4 win over Sam Houston. Last week against Florida, Manning — though imperfect — hung tough in the pocket while taking hit after hit from a relentless Gators defensive front and acquitted himself well, considering he was the second-most pressured quarterback in the country in Week 6.

On Saturday against Oklahoma, Manning played a clean, smart, disciplined brand of ball. When the offensive line got off to a rocky start, committing a false start and two holding penalties in the first quarter, Manning didn’t force the ball downfield or into coverage in hopes of making a play. He calmly threw to open receivers or backs — even if it wasn’t going to move the chains — and lived to play another down while the Longhorns punted.

As the game progressed, the line settled and the run game came alive, and Manning created opportunities with his legs, scrambling out of the pocket to find open receivers. When Oklahoma had a coverage bust in the secondary, Manning hit DeAndre Moore for Texas’ first touchdown of the game.

Manning also used his running ability to convert key third downs. He escaped pressure and made impressive throws. After going 0-for-3 on its early third downs, Texas converted 10 of its next 13, mostly on the arm or legs of Manning. His final stat line wasn’t eye-popping (21-for-27 passing, 166 yards, a touchdown and 34 rushing yards) — but he played winning football.

Sarkisian said Saturday that after the numerous hits Manning took against Florida, he wasn’t 100 percent on Monday, but took every single practice rep that day and the rest of the week. That toughness, determination and preparation paid off against a stout Sooners defense.

“That just solidified that Arch has the heart of a champion,” left tackle Trevor Goosby said. “Arch is willing to compete and put his body through the wringer for the team.”

Yes, we were too quick to crown him as a Heisman Trophy favorite and likely future No. 1 NFL Draft pick. And yes, we were again too quick to bury him when it didn’t go the way we predicted. He didn’t ask for that, and neither did Texas. But he’s a young quarterback who just made his eighth start and is continuing to improve, as he showed against the Sooners.

“We’re all behind him,” Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone said. “He’s the leader of this team and the leader of this offense.”

The Longhorns showed similar progress in other areas. The offensive line, which was also subject to heavy criticism after the loss to the Gators, didn’t panic after the early struggles. The unit shook off the penalties and miscues to contain a talented Oklahoma defensive line. Manning was sacked just once and the line paved the way for Quintrevion Wisner to gain 93 yards in the final three quarters after the running back netted just 1 in the first period.

After Texas produced little in the run game at Florida, Wisner proved elusive, dodging and breaking tackles to produce chunk plays and keep Texas moving down the field. The first drive of the second half belonged mostly to Wisner, who picked up 43 yards on six touches to get the Longhorns in the red zone for their go-ahead score.

The defense and special teams also rebounded. After the Gators moved the ball without much resistance a week ago, the Longhorns shut down the Sooners, keeping them out of the end zone for the third time in four years.

Edge rusher Colin Simmons (2.5 sacks) had another big game and cornerback Manny Muhammad (two interceptions) spearheaded a three-turnover effort. The defensive front harassed OU quarterback John Mateer consistently, sacking him five times.

And the linebackers and defensive backs tackled well and rallied to the ball. As the offense sputtered early, it was the defensive performance that carried the Longhorns, as it often has over the past three seasons.

And after allowing a blocked punt in The Swamp last week, Texas special teams redeemed itself with a punt return touchdown as Ryan Niblett’s 75-yard scamper sealed the deal for the Longhorns.

Texas wasn’t perfect on Saturday, and it’s unrealistic to expect that from this group of Longhorns. Although they were the preseason No. 1 team, it’s clear this team is not as talented offensively as the 2023 and 2024 squads, which produced a combined 14 draft picks on offense between them. The 2024 offensive line had 188 combined career starts. The unit that started on Saturday has 53, with 35 of them coming from right guard DJ Campbell. Livingstone, Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore, the Longhorns’ leading receivers, have a combined 25 starts.

This is not an offense that has shown it’s going to light up the scoreboard and dominate SEC opponents that way. It’s a young, growing unit that will need the continued help of its excellent defense and special teams contributions like Niblett’s to win consistently in SEC play.

But Texas can’t yet be counted out, as it showed after taking down a top-10 team with a gritty performance on Saturday.

“If we can play the way we played today, we’re plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference,” Sarkisian said. “But we’ve got to play that way. … And we have more work to do.”

This news was originally published on this post .

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