Texas Longhorns’ offensive line hasn’t been the strength it once was. Injuries, draft picks, and poor recruiting have taken the O-line from boastful to allowing pressure on 40.6% of dropbacks by last month. That was higher than all but eight teams, and the effects haven’t been lost on the Manning family.

Nine games in, Arch Manning has piled up 18 sacks. Six of those came against the Florida Gators alone, when the O-line also allowed pressure on 58% of his dropbacks. To make things worse, last week, he took a crushing hit from two Mississippi State defenders that put him under concussion protocol. In the aftermath, the concern was evident when Grandad Archie and Grandmom Olivia opened up on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams.

“It’s hard. It’s hard,” Archie shared when asked what it was like watching Arch play. “We pull for him so hard, and they’ve had some protection problems this year and struggled in a few games.” Olivia’s confession carried a similar sentiment. “I think I’m more nervous for my grandson than I ever was for my boys or my husband,” she revealed. 

Their concern isn’t misplaced. Being a Manning comes with its own set of pressures to begin with. Since joining the Longhorns, his game has been overanalysed and critiqued like few before. He’s been booed by home and away crowd alike, while HC Steve Sarkisian himself has been forced to admit that the expectations placed on the QB have been ‘out of control’.

Now, it doesn’t help that the support around him on the field has been visibly lacking. As Nash revealed in a recent report, Manning has been sacked more times to start the season than his predecessor, Quinn Ewers, was through one whole campaign. 

“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,” the report read. However, things are changing for the better for Arch in Sarkisian’s squad. After the game against Vanderbilt, the HC admitted that Manning had received the best protection yet. 

He faced pressure on just 17.6% of his dropbacks against the Commodores as opposed to 40% to start the previous month. The impact of it on Manning’s game was visible by the end of the night. He had passed for 328 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard connection with Ryan Wingo on the first play of the game. CBS even pushed him to No.18 on their Top 50 quarterback Power Rankings, after being left unranked before.

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. But this wasn’t the first time he exploded.

Arch Manning helps Texas erase a tough streak

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. And after the game against Vanderbilt, that tallied up to 2,123 yards, with 18 touchdowns through air and six more on the ground. Those 24 TDs tie him for the second-most by a QB in the SEC. 

Manning is also fifth in passing yards, eighth in yards per attempt, and eighth in the conference QB rating. With the improved protection and better stats, Arch has been brought to a better place mentally. As Sarkisian says, he noticed that the quarterback “feels a little more protected.”​ But will Texas be able to keep the walls strong around Arch for the rest of the run?