Texas’ 35-10 loss to Georgia exposed the old offensive woes that the Longhorns fans thought they had moved on from. But then TV personality Stephen A. Smith noted that Arch Manning was put in a difficult position throughout the game, forced to compensate for an offense that repeatedly undercut him with miscues and fumbles. Smith has previously questioned whether Texas’s system has given Manning a fair chance to succeed, and Saturday’s showing only deepened that concern.

“Hey Peeps! Texas is down 14-3. I just watched @ArchManning put the ball right in dudes hands not once, not twice, but three damn times on first, second, and third down, and these brothers are dropping passes,” Smith wrote on X. “I’ve counted 4 dropped passes from him already in this game. Damn @TexasFootball. Y’all want to make this a game vs @GeorgiaFootball or not?”

His frustration wasn’t baseless. Earlier in the season, Texas fans watched Manning miss open receivers. This time, the opposite happened. Arch finally put the ball where it needed to be, and his playmakers failed him. After a Texas three-and-out, Georgia stayed rolling. Stockton found Zachariah Branch across the middle, and Branch turned it into a 30-yard gain. The PAT gave Georgia a 14-3. After that, both offenses went pretty quiet for the rest of the half. Manning finally put a dime right on Ryan Wingo, but Wingo dropped it, forcing a fourth down and a Texas field goal. On the next drive, Manning hit Emmett Mosley V for 44 yards, and it felt like Texas was starting to cook. But back-to-back drops from Jordan Washington and DeAndre Moore Jr. killed the momentum.

Then, on a third-and-4 at the Georgia 29, Manning tried to get the ball out fast under pressure, sailed it over Moore Jr., and never saw safety KJ Bolden sitting right there for the interception. The most confusing part? These receivers aren’t unreliable players. Texas has a super versatile group of pass-catchers, led by Ryan Wingo (31 grabs, 5 TDs), Emmett Mosley V (15 for 3 TDs), DeAndre Moore Jr. (29 for 1 TD), Parker Livingstone (21 for 5 TDs), and tight end Jack Endries (19 for 2 TDs). Wingo, Mosley, Moore Jr., Livingstone, and Endries have been productive all year. Just not today.

Which leaves one uncomfortable question, how much of this falls on coaching?

Kirby Smart’s antics become Steve Sarkisian’s worst nightmare

Texas’ offense needs fixing at the very earliest, that’s for sure. The coming week’s practice session will be a lot about getting the correct man in the right place and proper reading. But there was this one play in the fourth quarter that actually required a bit more attention from Steve Sarkisian. Right after Arch Manning hit Ryan Wingo for a touchdown, Georgia got bold.

They went for it on fourth down twice on the next drive and punched in a TD. Then Kirby Smart pulled out a surprise onside kick. Georgia grabbed it, keeping Manning stuck on the sideline and forcing an already gassed Texas defense to stay on the field. After this embarrassment, Steve Sarkisian had to take responsibility. “We didn’t break on the ball. That’s on us as coaches,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting our players to understand situational football.”

The moment sparked immense controversy in Texas, as the team was unable to make proper reads of the rival team. It became their first successful onside kick since 2013 against South Carolina when Collin Barber orchestrated it. Last year, the Bulldogs tried to pull the same trick against Texas, but failed miserably as Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers recovered it.