Arch Manning hitting stride at right time for surging No. 20 Texas

It took a while, but Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is starting to look like the five-star talent he was expected to be.

On Saturday, Associated Press No. 20 Texas (7-2, 4-1 in SEC) notched its second top-10 win of the season, defeating No. 9 Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 in SEC), 34-31, to keep its SEC championship hopes alive and set up a massive showdown at No. 5 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 in SEC) following a Week 11 bye.

Manning, who struggled at the beginning of the year in his first full season as a starting quarterback, had arguably his best game of the season. He finished 25-of-33 for 328 yards and three touchdowns.

Arch Manning’s strong play a major boost to Texas’ SEC, CFP championship odds

The Longhorns were left for dead after an early October loss at Florida (3-4, 2-2 in SEC). But they’ve responded with four consecutive wins and once again control their destiny for a playoff spot. With Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 in SEC) remaining on the schedule, Texas should easily make the College Football Playoff by winning out. Manning’s strong play of late makes that a much more realistic possibility.

Since that loss to Florida, Manning is completing 65.4 percent of his pass attempts for 972 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), seven touchdowns and one interception. As important as he’s been to reviving the team’s playoff hopes, he hasn’t had to be Superman. Against Vandy, the Longhorns gained 258 of their 328 passing yards after the catch. Defensively, they sacked Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia six times and finished with 10 total tackles for loss.

It will take an entire team effort going forward for Texas to run the table, and for the first time all season, Manning appears ready to hold up his end of the bargain.