Just under 14 months ago, college football analyst Paul Finebaum made a statement on Texas quarterback Arch Manning so strong that it made waves across the sport. During an appearance on SEC Nation, Finebaum boldly declared that Manning is "the best player we have seen from every aspect since Tim Tebow." Now, a full 18 games later, the hype is cooling off tremendously, at least in Finebaum's eyes.
Manning's first two seasons as a full-time starter have had ups and downs, but the Longhorns' loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday appears to have been a final straw for the quarterback's longtime supporter. Finebaum spoke about Manning several times over the weekend and into Monday, but in recent comments on The Matt Barrie Show, he really dropped
the hammer.
“We showed arrogance in believing that Arch Manning can do anything," Finebaum said. "And he almost did, except he finally got in the way of himself."
"And I was really troubled by how he had played up to this point. I came away going, I don’t know what this guy’s going to do. Because he is not the elite player that we all tried to make him out to be. He can be great in moments, as we saw near the end of the game when he threw that great play that set up the touchdown, but he can just be downright stupid in others."
It's a strong response, especially from Finebaum, and while Manning finished 19-of-30 for 260 yards and three touchdowns, he also threw two crucial interceptions. Texas also blew a 10-point lead it held into the second half, and after Oklahoma had leveled the score at 17, Manning threw a pick-six early in the fourth quarter to give the Sooners their first lead.
However, Manning appeared primed for more late-game heroics after leading the team on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 24. The Texas defense did its job twice after that, forcing Oklahoma to punt, but the first Texas drive resulted in a missed field goal and then a potential game-winning drive turned into a Manning interception just inside Oklahoma territory.
The rest, as they say, is history, as the Sooners got into field goal range and walked it off with a field goal to win 27-24.
For good measure, Finebaum also added to those comments during Monday's episode of ESPN's First Take, calling it a "disgraceful performance" by Manning and saying he "threw the game away two different times."
Until now, a 4-0 start to the college football season, with wins over then-No. 1 Ohio State and No. 14 Tennessee, had kept much of the on-field questions about Manning at bay. However, in those two wins, Manning finished with 195 and 201 passing yards, respectively, while throwing one touchdown against two interceptions.
The coming weeks are going to be telling for Manning and the Longhorns, as they face previously ranked Florida next week, followed by a stretch of four consecutive games against ranked opponents in Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Paul Finebaum pumps brakes on Arch Manning hype: 'He can be downright stupid'
