Joe Smith's Argument on Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning Over an Average QB Is Meaningless

Arch Manning's Texas Mismatch Raises Real Questions About Whether Steve Sarkisian Has Benched a Lesser-Known Quarterback So Far.

Arch Manning should stay in Texas for another year Don't @ Me w/ Dan Dakich

"I said if your last name was Dakich, you'd be a quarterback at Bowling Green State, which isn't bad. You'd be riding high, but I saw it in high school. I saw the ball come out of your hand. I saw it all. And I said, he's not that good."

If head coach Steve Sarkisian stops adding unnecessary fuel to the fire, maybe the Ark Manning narrative can be dealt with in Texas.

We all know if the Longhorns quarterback gets more attention than anyone else across the country based on his last name alone.

But, at some point people have to start having realistic expectations for the guy who leads the Texas offense.

College football's mega rosters are not a return on investment as LSU, Texas A&M and Oregon are proving.

Right now, Ark. Manning is a good college quarterback and sometimes plays like an ordinary passer who has cost his team at least one game this season.

Throw in the fact that he's the face of Texas football right now, and obviously there could be moments when Manning's latest quarterback is under pressure.

My God, his manager is doing him no favors from a public perspective.

Texas QB Arch Manning talks about Longhorns' win over Tennessee (via: Trey Wallace. OutKick)

If this was "Joe Smith", the Texas football team might play a different QB

On Monday, a reporter asked Steve Sarkisian if you removed the name "Manning" from the back of his jersey, would all the "unbelievable" expectations from the quarterback be gone?

Sarkisian gave this gem of an answer after opening his answer with the cliché that this is a team game, and how the Texas offense is going to run.

Arch Manning ranked fifth among quarterbacks in 2027 NFL Draft as executive questions 'Blind Faith' by name

"I think if you took the name off the back of his jersey and said, 'Joe Smith plays at Texas, and this is a guy who has beaten four top-ranked teams in his last thirteen games,'" Sarkisian noted.

Expectations are high from him, but he knows it. Expectations are high for all of us.

Oklahoma unranked No. 1 Texas in walkoff fashion after Arch Manning's rough fourth quarter

For the love of all that is good, spare us this nonsense. If Manning was actually called "Joe Smith," Steve Sarkisian would already be giving backup quarterbacks at least a shot to overtake Arch Manning as the starter.

The reality is that Arch has been very inconsistent in Texas, and that's okay. He's not going to wow audiences every week, something everyone in college football should recognize by now.

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Also, the Longhorns should feel lucky they don't already have three losses on the season, given Ohio State and Tennessee's fourth-quarter offensive firepower outside of its rushing attack.

Ark receives no favors from Sarkisian, but the quarterback is not a first-rounder.

Now we're at the point where we can use his popularity as a reason why Arch Manning is an average college football player when things go wrong.

It just has to come down to the fact that if this were a different school or position, Arch Manning would get the same kind of reviews as Josh Hoover at Indiana or Dante Moore at Oregon.

Arch Manning doesn't fall back on expectations, and neither does Steve Sarkisian, because CFP halves aren't enough.

Oklahoma Sooners defensive end Trent Wilson (90) tackles Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the first half on October 10, 2026 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. (Kevin George/Images)

But, since Steve Sarkisian wants to continue to give these kinds of answers about his quarterback, the outcry will only increase if Manning plays this way.

Arch Manning is officially going through the PR spin cycle, and the finished product looks awful

No, he doesn't look like a top 10 NFL draft pick, or even a top quarterback at this potential.

But sure, let's act as if Manning wouldn't get this kind of criticism if he had a different last name.

It's a fact that if Arch didn't have a last name, we might not be talking about Texas at all.

We can talk about the main player of the sixth group football team.

At some point, Sarkisian must realize that he is not doing himself any favors with these answers.

Terry Wallace is the senior college sports reporter for OutKick.

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