Two years ago, in this very same week of October, Steve Sarkisian snapped at a reporter who asked whether Texas might swap out its starting quarterback for the most heralded recruit in years. “I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. The quarterback he was protecting then was Quinn Ewers, and the backup everyone was asking about was a young Arch Manning. History has a funny way of circling back.

This time, the roles have flipped. Manning is the starter, the Longhorns are 4-2 after back-to-back 27-24 losses to unranked Oklahoma and Florida, and he is the one facing replacement talk. Texas hosts No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday night, and the offense, which is part of a roster reportedly worth around $50 million, has not looked anything like its price tag. Into that mess stepped one of college football’s most recognizable voices, with a take that doesn’t land where many people expected.

“I think this is a real crossroads type moment for Texas as a team and for Arch as the quarterback,” Rece Davis said on The Pat McAfee Show on October 21. “Arch is super talented, but it just doesn’t look right right now. It’s never one person’s fault. Everybody has to share responsibility, but you look at all of the weapons, they don’t do a great job on the offensive line.”

Davis, the ESPN College GameDay host, did not let Manning off the hook completely. He acknowledged that the quarterback isn’t playing well. But he moved the focus to what he saw on tape: easier, quicker-release throws that Manning may have passed on, and a run game that isn’t working as it should, which in turn creates other problems.

“Something has to change for Texas,” Davis said. “Now, does that have to be the quarterback, per se? I don’t know. But they’re too talented. They’ve got too much invested in terms of the big money question to perform offensively the way they’ve performed up to this point.”

He also pointed to the Florida game, which he rewatched this week. Texas jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the middle of the second quarter and then “fizzled” and went flat. Davis said he still believes Manning is talented and hopes he can find it.

“If they need to coach better, call plays better, get the ball out of his hand quicker, whatever it might be, I hope that happens for him,” he said, adding that it’s hard to watch someone so gifted not play to his capabilities.

Davis’ balanced view stands in contrast with Paul Finebaum, who put the blame squarely on the coach. On “The Matt Barrie Show,” Finebaum said he has no idea what Sarkisian is doing and that the coach shouldn’t be calling plays.

“This is on you, Sarkisian,” he said. “It’s terrible. It’s embarrassing what you’ve done to Arch Manning.”

Finebaum also reacted to Sarkisian’s earlier “Joe Smith” comparison, calling it the “idiotic take of the year.”

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken framed it differently again. He wrote that if Manning’s last name weren’t Manning, observers would likely conclude he is who he is and move on, and that either way the consequences should fall on the staff. In his view, the pressure will shift from the quarterback to the coach if nothing changes.

So three prominent voices, three different answers, which is a good picture of where the conversation sits in Austin.

Manning went 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a touchdown against Florida, and he fumbled late. Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) has lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time since a 5-7 finish in 2021, Sarkisian’s first year.

Manning has taken responsibility.

“I haven’t put good film on tape the past five weeks, and I’m going to be better,” he told reporters Monday.

Sarkisian has stuck with him as the starter but sounded less defensive than before: “Arch can play better for us. He’s our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team.”

ESPN reported that KJ Lacey Jr. would get an uptick in first-team practice snaps. Wolken called the idea of a benching an empty threat, since Lacey has never faced an SEC-quality pass rush in a meaningful game.

Saturday’s game against Ole Miss at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. It could revive the season or push Texas toward playoff purgatory. For Davis, the answer isn’t one person. For Texas, the fix, whatever it turns out to be, has to start this week.