Well, if you thought the win over San Jose State was underwhelming, I can’t imagine how you’re feeling after the victory over UTEP. Is the Texas offense “broken”? Is it “growing pains”? What is your take?
Daniel Seahorn (@DanielSeahorn) – I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s definitely sputtering and leaking some oil right now. Arch has a lot of growing up to do, and is going to have to learn on the job, and Steve Sarkisian is going to have to go back to the drawing board and tailor his offense around
what Arch can do RIGHT NOW. On top of that, he needs to proceed with the knowledge that his current offensive line has shortcomings, and he needs to try to cover them up where he can.
Gerald Goodridge (@ghgoodridge) – It’s clear that there is something mentally off with Arch Manning, and I think that is the biggest issue facing Texas currently. He is missing throws we’ve seen him make in the past, so it’s clear it’s something between the ears. He seems to be the worst on play action and from under center, and the best work we’ve seen from him was when the offense was wide open and moving fast. Couple that with his hesitance to throw the ball to open men and waiting for them to be fully open before pulling the trigger, it seems like he is overthinking and overprocessing. I think if they can find a way to get the offense operating faster and allow Arch to get into the flow of the game, rather than process in his head, it should be fixed.
Cameron Parker (@camerondparker) – Growing pains. My biggest concern coming into this season was how the offensive line would play. It hasn’t been awful, but it hasn’t been great at alleviating pressure off of Arch Manning. Texas was able to run against Ohio State, but weirdly struggled with a shiftier San Jose State front. Is that because Tre Wisner didn’t play? And then there’s Arcch’s struggles. It’s a perfect storm for an inconsistent offense. And considering the turnover and lack of experience on offense, it shouldn’t be that surprising, even though my expectations were higher coming into the season.
Jacob Neidig (@jneidig_2) – The offense is not operating well. There’s no way around that. Personally, I am still somewhat confident that things will swing back around. Maybe not to the level we expected in the offseason, but it seems like the offense is trapped in a vicious cycle between the ears of Arch and Sark. Missed throws lead to run calls, lead to continued QB mental miscues, lead to more missed throws. When they figure it out, this offense can still be really good, and I’m not quite ready to call it quits on them making it work.
Quentin Bell (@uncleqbell) – The offense is still growing. This week against Sam Houston the offense should have better cohesion. Timing is the biggest issue I see on the offense with the passing and running game, but the dawg is still there.
Wescott Eberts (@SBN_Wescott) – Arch Manning’s mechanics look pretty broken. He’s still missing throws badly and struggling to spin the football even on simple passes. The rest of the offense is definitely suffering from growing pains at multiple positions. The offensive line still isn’t executing at a high level, the tight ends had some major blocking breakdowns against UTEP, and the running backs missed some holes. With four injuries between running back and wide receiver, getting guys like Quintrevion Wisner and DeAndre Moore back will make a big difference for this team.
The most disappointing thing about the 2025 season so far is…
Daniel – Low-hanging fruit is the quarterback, but I’ve been saying since week one that the Texas skill positions are not explosive enough and lack juice. That’s been a big L through three weeks.
Gerald – Probably the wide receivers, with the asterisk of “Could Arch get them the ball anyway?” Sark was pretty open about his optimism with the wide receiver room, adding just Emmett Mosley to the group, who hasn’t played a single snap. It’s tough watching Texas A&M win a big road game with a pair of transfer wide receivers as the stars of the show, while Texas can’t get anything going in the passing game.
Cameron – Arch Manning. It was unfair to expect him to win the Heisman this season, but we saw enough flashes last season to expect him to be much better than what we’ve seen so far.
Jacob – The running game. I was excited for the two-man backfield of Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter. I thought they’d be the security blanket for a new offensive line and quarterback. That hasn’t happened yet, thus far. A lack of passing threat and injuries have derailed the ground game, but it’s still been highly disappointing. When will we see someone finally break a long run?
Quentin – The running game. I was expecting at least one of the top two RB’s for the Longhorns to have at least 250+ rushing yards by now. The lack thereof raises concerns.
Wescott – I’m not sure how the answer could be anything other than Arch Manning because his struggles have been shocking. There was nothing about how he performed last year that suggested the possibility of what we’ve seen on the field over the first three games. Nothing.
Which Texas player has impressed you the most this season?
Daniel – Graceson Littleton gets the nod for me. He’s done something every week to flash to my eye and he’s only a true freshman. Texas found themselves a stud in that kid and this exposure now will pay dividends down the line.
Gerald – Maraad Watson as a stand-in for all of the defensive tackles. Pete Kwiatkowski’s system thrives when it has defensive linemen who take up space and occupy blockers, which these guys are doing at a high level. Liona Lefau has had a massive increase in his impact defensively, and a big part of the reason is that the tackles are taking on multiple blockers, so he can flow freely and be impactful. The sacks from Watson and Kanu are just icing on a really impressive cake.
Cameron – Graceson Littleton. I think cornerback is the most difficult position to play but to come in a true freshman and immediately have to cover Jeremiah Smith? And to hold your own against him? Mightily impressive.
Jacob – Jelani McDonald. McDonald had big shoes to fill this year and has come on as of late. He’s versatile and creates havoc for the defense. I’ve been impressed with his physicality and nose for the ball. The interception and fumble recovery are two plays that will show up on highlight reels but his down-to-down play against the run and pass is what has impressed me most.
Quentin – Graceson Littleton along with the DB’s, I love seeing the physicality and the constant swarming. I’d like to see more forced turnovers, either fumbles or interceptions, but I stick around for the hits.
Wescott – Hero Kanu. Born in Germany and late to football, Kanu was always going to need some time to develop, but there weren’t a lot of flashes at Ohio State, so the jump that he’s made this year for Texas is the most surprising development along the defensive line.
Will Texas cover for the first time this season? Texas (-41.5 at FanDuel) or Sam Houston?
Daniel (2-1/1-2 ATS) – Texas will win this game because Sam Houston State isn’t very good, but until they cover a big number, I will bet against them. Texas 38, Sam Houston 3
Gerald (2-1/1-2 ATS) – That is a huge number, but Sam Houston is giving up an average of 38.7 points per game so far against teams that aren’t nearly as good as Texas. They are also missing the first two quarterbacks on their depth chart (one of which is their leading rusher), so I don’t expect a ton of success from their offense. Texas 45, Sam Houston 3
Cameron (2-1/1-2 ATS) – Texas 45, Sam Houston 3
Jacob (2-1/1-2 ATS) – Texas 52, Sam Houston 3 – I think Texas figures some things out on offense against an overmatched defense that has been one of the worst in the country. Texas wins big and looks good doing it.
Quentin (2-1/2-1 ATS) – This weekend should be a better offensive outing, but I’ll take the under. If Arch doesn’t get his completion percentage up and if the RB group doesn’t gather 150+ on the ground, I’ll be worried about the conference starting the following week. Texas 28, Sam Houston 7.
Wescott (2-1/1-2 ATS) – Texas 38, Sam Houston 3. I still don’t trust this team to cover after their recent performances and the injuries make that even more unlikely because this group needs to get some guys back and get Arch going to turn in impressive performances against overmatched opponents.
