Arch Manning’s game had issues that plagued him for the first half of the 2025 campaign. However, later in the season, the Longhorns’ first-year starter showed glimpses of his potential. Heading into the 2026 season, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes the expectation for Texas should be championship-or-bust. But to reach that level, Manning must improve on some key things.

“I think it’s consistency,” Jordan Rodgers said on ESPN‘s Get Up show when asked about what Manning has to do better next season. “Texas has one of the best rosters in the country. Cam Coleman, the receiver from Auburn, is now in Texas and was one of the most impactful transfer portal additions in the country. Him and Wingo, they’ve got one of the best receiver duos in the country for Arch. Now, here’s what I need to see from Arch: more consistency. He was one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks in the country on the short game. Zero to 10 yards, he was last in the SEC and 122nd in completion percentage; it was just 56%.”

“He is the most inaccurate from 0-25 yards as well. And all that has to do with footwork and mechanics. You start to see it get a little bit better as the year went on, but he’s got to clean his footwork up, which in turn is going to clean up his release point, some of that side-arm lean that you see at times. And if he’s more efficient and consistent, the explosiveness is going to be there, and Texas will get to a national championship.”

In his 13 appearances last season, Manning threw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns while also rushing for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns. Overall, the numbers paint a different picture than how Manning’s season looked week by week.

In the Week 1 loss to Ohio State, Manning was inaccurate, missed throws, and looked quite raw. He didn’t have any answer for Matt Patricia’s defensive scheme. Those struggles continued against UTEP and a multi-interception loss to Florida. It also didn’t help the young QB that his O-line wasn’t doing its job. On top of that, the receivers had some horrendous drops in those early matchups.

However, things began to change with the Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma. Manning had a relatively clean game in a 27-6 win. He followed that with two impressive second-half performances against Kentucky and Mississippi State. And we saw similar glimpses of Arch figuring it out against Vanderbilt and Michigan as well.

But the bottom line is that Texas missed the playoffs after losing three games. All of that can’t be put on Arch Manning. From an offensive standpoint, the lack of a consistent running game didn’t help the QB. Steve Sarkisian has admitted as much in his review of the 2025 season.

Heading into the 2026 season, Texas has addressed its offensive depth issues. The running back room now has a real weapon in Hollywood Smothers. But as QB1, it will eventually come down to how Arch Manning performs, especially against ranked SEC opponents.