Heading into Week 4 with a comfortable 3-0 record, how will No. 1 Texas continue its success on the road, facing No. 14 Tennessee?
It’ll be up to quarterback Arch Manning. Manning has spent all season at the top of every NFL Draft prospect list and earned praise for taking down top-ranked Ohio State in Week 2. Especially under head coach Steve Sarkisian, the buzz around the Longhorns and Manning only continues to grow.
After last year's first season as starting quarterback, his underwhelming start drew plenty of criticism, especially with the expectations his last name carries. However, his strong finish defeating then-No. 7 Texas A&M made him an intriguing quarterback — amongst a deep NFL Draft class of signal-callers — to watch this season.
But what does FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt think of Manning’s performance entering Texas’ pivotal Week 4 matchup? Klatt thinks Manning has not lived up to the hype. "Arch has just been OK, at best," Klatt said while appearing on Wednesday’s edition of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd." "He played really gritty for three series against Ohio State and competed his butt off … Outside of that, against UTSA … he needs to play better." Through three games this season, Manning has completed 59-of-96 passes for 661 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
What does help Manning’s case for his talent and his potential this year is his surrounding cast. In the offseason, Sarkisian reloaded with weapons like wide receiver Cam Coleman and running back Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers, giving Manning a balanced offense against a difficult conference schedule. Looking ahead to facing true freshman Faizon Brandon and the Volunteers, Klatt did not hesitate to acknowledge the difficulty of winning on the road, especially against a top-25 team.
"I think it helps that they can run the football. They have some backs that they trust. They need to play quality defense," Klatt said.
"The other part of this …it’s really tough to win on the road. Think about every single big game this year, the home team wins. I think it’s going to be close.
I picked Texas, but I think it’s going to be a very close game." After its road contest at Tennessee, the Longhorns still have to face No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 21 Florida at home, as well as No.
10 LSU and No. 23 Texas A&M on the road. If Manning can lead Texas to a strong SEC win on the road, momentum could carry the Longhorns into a successful regular season which could turn into a return to the College Football Playoff.
