Being a Manning comes with its own pressure. Texas quarterback Arch Manning knows the weight of his last name, but also the strength of the family behind it. As Texas readies for Georgia, his grandparents, Archie and Olivia Manning, are all eyes on their grandson. However, there is one factor of Steve Sarkisian’s program that makes them uneasy. After all, already the coal under Arch’s feet is 3x hotter than his predecessor Quinn Ewers. 

On the November 6th episode of the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams, it was a fam jam moment. Arch got some of his biggest supporters- grandad Archie, grandmom Olivia, and uncle Eli Manning to talk about him on the show. The quarterback suffered a concussion in the October 26 overtime win at Mississippi State. One could notice how worried Archie looked when he opened up, “We pull for him so hard, and they’ve had some protection problems this year and struggled in a few games.”

Arch walked into the 2025 season with a bag full of hype, but soon collided with reality. Against Ohio State, he came up with only 170 yards. To make things harder, he got sacked once, followed by one interception. Things turned worse. Arch came up with two interceptions and was sacked six times against the Florida Gators. Nine games in, the quarterback has piled up 2,123 yards, with 18 touchdowns, 18 sacks, and six interceptions, telling the story of his wild ride in Austin.

Now you know what made Olivia confess, “I think I’m more nervous for my grandson than I ever was for my boys or my husband.” We know where Arch’s grandmom came from. The quarterback’s dream night ended with heartbreak. Before the Mississippi State face-off, FBS teams had lost 429 straight games when trailing by at least 17 points with 10 remaining in the 4th quarter. But Arch broke the streak.

Texas scored 24 straight in a 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State. He also hit a career high, running for 346 yards. But the night changed too fast for Arch as overtime turned painful. He scrambled for a first down. But after that took a crushing hit from two Mississippi State defenders that put him under concussion protocol. He made a big comeback against Vanderbilt, adding 328 yards to his name, the second-highest of the season. That’s how Arch made his grandad proud. 

“But we get through it. We’re proud of him, and he’s handled everything really well,” Archie shared. Maybe a boost from the NFL legend is exactly what Arch needs as a tough reality looms in the Texas camp for him. 

Quinn Ewers happened to be in a much better place than Arch Manning

Since Arch has stepped into Ewers’ shoes, he is compared to his predecessor every now and then. There were times when Arch used to catch more spotlight than the veteran, and the discussion continued on how he is the better fit than Ewers. However, for a change, Ewers’ Texas era seems to look better than it is for Arch. 

As Nash came up with a surprising report, “Arch Manning has been hit 60 times in 7 games. It took all of the 2024 regular season for Quinn Ewers to be hit 60 times.” But things are changing for the better for Arch in Sarkisian’s squad. Finally, the Longhorns’ offensive line has figured out ways to give their quarterback less stress. As Sarkisian proudly admitted, “This was the best protection he’s received all year.” The stats of the Commodores’ face-off do all the talking.

Arch Manning finally got some breathing room. He faced pressure on just 17.6% of his dropbacks against Vanderbilt. That’s way down from the 41.9% pounding he took earlier in the season. This brings Arch to a better place mentally. As Steve Sarkisian noticed that the quarterback “feels a little more protected.”​ Will Texas be able to keep the walls strong around Arch for the rest of the run?