Plagued by mistakes and stalled drives, the Arch Manning-led Texas offense was flummoxed by a sturdy Georgia defense in the Longhorns‘ 35-10 loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday. Manning, who turned the ball over once and also nearly lost a fumble, was far from perfect but his teammates did him no favors.
Here‘s how Manning fared in the disappointing loss to an SEC foe.
Manning started off hot on Texas‘s opening drive
Manning, showing poise in the face of a pressuring Bulldogs defense, got the ball out quickly and completed his first four passes of the game. But in what would become a common theme for the Longhorns, a mistake stalled what looked to be a fruitful opening drive. Manning fired a perfect ball to wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who promptly dropped it to set up a fourth down and a Longhorns field goal.
Mistakes plague Manning and the Longhorns’ offense
Whether it was a penalty, a dropped pass or a turnover, the Longhorns’ offense simply couldn‘t get out of its own way for much of the contest. On the team‘s third drive of the game, a 44-yard completion from Manning to receiver Emmett Mosley V seemed to indicate that Texas had something brewing. But alas, dropped passes from tight end Jordan Washington and receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. stopped the promising drive in its tracks.
Third downs, on which Texas went 0-for-6 on potential conversions in the first half, were problematic for Manning and the Longhorns. One such scenario saw Manning commit his lone turnover of the game—a killer mistake. Facing a manageable third-and-4 from the Georgia 29-yard line, Manning zipped the ball out quickly with pressure coming but overshot Moore Jr. and never saw Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden, who intercepted the pass.
Manning‘s Longhorns teammates did him no favors
There were also several instances throughout the game where Manning was let down by his teammates. Pressured by a blitz-happy Georgia defense, Manning was under duress for much of the game, taking three sacks. Texas committed nine penalties in the contest and dropped several passes. So bad were the drops that even ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith, who spends much of his time talking the NFL and NBA for the network, took to X to lambast the Longhorns‘s pass-catchers.
Texas also struggled to get its running game going, leading to several third-and-long situations, obvious passing situations where the Bulldogs defense could bear down.
What did Manning do well vs. Georgia?
Manning showed poise and decisiveness in pockets that were frequently collapsing. While there were times that Manning held onto the ball too long, he largely minimized those instances, knowing that he needed to get the ball out quickly with Georgia bringing the heat. On several plays, Manning set his feet and put the ball right where it needed to be, even if it meant he was about to absorb a big hit from a Bulldogs defender. He also took full advantage of a crucial Georgia penalty in the red zone in the third quarter, firing a strike to Wingo for his lone touchdown of the game.
Bottom line
The box score will say it was an average day at the office for Manning. And while Manning was far from perfect, he also was held back by some crucial drops and mistakes by the Texas team, which did not look sharp coming out of its bye. Give credit to the Bulldogs defense as well. It was a championship-level effort from the Georgia defense all night long in what was their best performance of the season.
