It ended how it always seems to for Arch Manning. He was under pressure, with the weight of Texas football collapsing all around him. In the Swamp’s humid chaos, the third-year QB stood tall, then got swallowed whole. Both tackles folded, the pocket imploded, and Florida edge rusher George Gumbs slammed through to seal a 29-21 Gators win. It was Florida’s fifth sack on a day when the Longhorns allowed an absurd 58% pressure rate. So yeah, the 21-year-old is under pressure, and the national hype train has officially derailed. But what came next was a full-blown internet civil war, uniting bitter rivals for the first time in years. 

A spicy Arch Manning take just dropped on October 7. The Athletic, via The New York Times, threw a grenade at the Longhorns QB. “Many people are having a bad year in college football, but Arch Manning is having one of the worst. The quarterback has gone from preseason Heisman Trophy favorite and projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick to a man synonymous with failure.” The words “synonymous with failure” did more than sting. They triggered an online phenomenon with Texas fans, Sooners, and Aggies actually agreeing on something for once.

Maybe Arch Manning’s numbers invite scrutiny. His 3.5-second average time to throw on Saturday was a red flag. Holding the ball that long behind a leaky line is practically a death wish. Texas legend Colt McCoy even warned back in August, “I think for a young guy, he’s always wanting to make the big play.” He wasn’t wrong, but this isn’t all on the QB. Play-calling has been a head-scratcher. Manning’s average depth of target is 12 yards, the second-highest in the Power Four. Yet Texas ranks near the bottom in short throws (1–9 yards). 

That means that the Longhorns are asking him to be Joe Burrow with an offensive line made of paper. And when you’re airing it out like that, accuracy dips. Arch Manning’s 68.5% adjusted completion rate ranks 89th out of 100 FBS quarterbacks, and yeah, some of those misses have been ugly. But no quarterback thrives when he’s running for his life every snap. Sooner or later, even the Mannings of the world crumble under chaos. Then came the backlash, not from Austin, but from everywhere else. 

Rival fans shield Arch Manning from criticism 

Five quotes, five punches thrown at The Athletic, all from fanbases that usually can’t agree on lunch. When your arch-enemy says you’ve been done dirty, you know the take’s radioactive. “It takes a lot for me, a Sooner, to defend Arch but this will do it. “Synonymous with failure?” Are you f*cking kidding me?” an OU fan wrote. Even Oklahoma fans were calling for a flag on the play.

“Arch Manning takes like these are insane. It’s ok for him to be “just fine.” The hype was and always has been driven by his last name. The offseason hype wasn’t warranted … even if some of those people thought he would succeed at an elite level,” another wrote. Fair point. The QB didn’t crown himself the “Next Great Manning.” The media did. And now they’re shocked he’s not walking on water behind an offensive line made of turnstiles.

This isn’t a quarterback controversy; it’s a context problem. “Kid’s been a starter for a handful of games behind a pretty bad offensive line with unrealistic expectations. I’d delete this,” another fan wrote. When your offense gives you 1.7 seconds to breathe, you’re not failing. You’re surviving.

There’s defending your team and then there’s defending the integrity of sports media. “Writing articles is hard. It takes hours of hard work, creativity, and determination. But this is a horrific concept. He’s played five games and you’re attaching a label to him that will LITERALLY determine the casual opinion of a kid. Journalistic misconduct.” This fan’s not wrong. Words matter, especially when they shape national perception.

And here’s the juicy part. “You’ve gotta write a REALLY bad article to have Longhorns, Sooners, and Aggies coming together in the comments. Author is Will Leitch btw if you didn’t care to click beyond the paywall.” Will Leitch just accomplished what the Big 12 couldn’t. Unity through outrage.

And the finger is pointing at the media more than Arch Manning himself. “So to be clear, YOU overhyped him in the offseason and now that he’s not performing to YOUR standards, YOU are calling him a flop? Seems like you’re the problem.” When your critics start defending you, the narrative’s officially shifted. 

Arch Manning might not be lighting up the scoreboard, but for one surreal moment, he lit up college football in a different way. And that’s by making enemies act like friends.