The Texas Longhorns
suddenly, once again, look like a College Football Playoff contender, but they’ve had to work for everything they’ve gotten this year.
Perhaps that’s what happens when the hype is too much. Unrealistic expectations are placed on players, like quarterback Arch Manning, and teams, like the Longhorns, that can never realistically be met.
The truth of the matter in college football is that it’s not a black and white sport. There’s no such thing as only being elite or only being terrible. And sometimes, it just takes time. Just like anything else in life that ends up being worth it.
That’s why the Longhorns find themselves looking like a dangerous team as the 2025 season starts to transition into crunch time. They’re 7-2 and coming off a huge win over No. 16 Vanderbilt, and their quarterback, Manning, is starting to come into his own.
“Arch Manning is beginning to reach the preseason hype, just slowly. Not there yet, but you’re starting to see the glimmer of what we thought he might be going into the season,” McElroy recently said,
according to Rivals. “A lot of it has to do with the fact that they’re protecting him, finally. I mean, he had plenty of time. He was getting the ball out of his hands, but he also had plenty of time. Vanderbilt had no answers there early in the game. They had no pass rush. They had no opportunities to get guys behind the sticks. They never got Texas off schedule. They didn’t have any sacks. They didn’t force any turnovers. So, when you look at everything, this was a very, very impressive performance from Texas from start to finish.”
Arch Manning and Texas is starting to figure it out
It was a 34-31 win for the Longhorns on Saturday and Manning looked great. He completed 25-of-33 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns and he led Texas’ offense to 428 total yards in the barnburner at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Manning has now thrown for 2,123 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season, compared to six interceptions. He’s thrown only one interception in the past four games and, keep in mind, he’s also a threat on the ground. Manning has rushed for 203 yards and six touchdowns so far in 2025.
If Manning’s offensive line can keep him upright, he has what it takes physically as well as between his ears to be one of the top quarterbacks in the country. The good news is, after allowing eight sacks over its previous two games, the Longhorns’ offensive line didn’t allow a single one against Vandy.
That’s a recipe for success in any league or conference, and the good news for this Texas team is that it appears to be figuring this out right in time for the home stretch.
Texas’ final games are against No. 5 Georgia, Arkansas and No. 3 Texas A&M. Two of those three games are going to be tough, but McElroy, a former national championship quarterback himself, believes Manning and the Longhorns are gearing up for a CFP run.
“With a young offense and an offensive line that’s now playing to their potential, and a young quarterback that might be approaching the confident level that you need to have to be elite in this game, and they’re going into the bye week, people need to start thinking about Texas as a potential spoiler in the College Football Playoff. This is a team that can absolutely get there,” McElroy said.
