The Texas Longhorns rolled on Friday against Texas Tech, allowing for the highly-anticipated debut of freshman quarterback Arch Manning to take place.
Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Eli and Peyton Manning, entered the game for starting QB Quinn Ewers late in the third quarter with the Longhorns up 50-7 on Texas Tech.
Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns scrambles in the third quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said backup quarterback Malik Murphy was injured on the sideline during a kickoff return earlier in the game, making Manning the backup to Ewers.
ARCHIE MANNING SAYS GRANDSON ARCH REMAINS CONTENT AT TEXAS DESPITE LACK OF PLAYING TIME
The star freshman played the entire fourth quarter, completing two of five passing attempts for 30 yards. Manning also showed his agility with a 12-yard run early in the fourth.
“I’ve never seen a quarterback go into the game as a backup . . . when Arch went in, I mean the crowd was buzzing,” Sarkisian said, according to ESPN. “We had to try to quiet the crowd.”
Despite his lack of playing time in his freshman season, Archie Manning said his grandson doesn’t have any regrets about landing in Austin, Texas.
Arch Manning, #16 of the Texas Longhorns, stands on the field in the fourth quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
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“Arch is happy with the decision he made,” Manning told The Spun’s Chris Rosvolou earlier in November. “All the reports we get is that he’s doing well. He’s going to get a redshirt out of this year, and I think that’s important.”
With the dominant win, Texas secured a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game and earned its 11th victory for the first time since 2013.
The Longhorns were ranked No. 7 in fourth College Football Playoff ranking, one spot ahead of Alabama and one behind one-loss Oregon.
Texas defeated Alabama in Week 2 on the road, earning the biggest win of the Sarkisian era.
Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns motions to quiet the crowd in the fourth quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
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“I won’t back off the fact that I think we have the best win in the country this year,” Sarkisian said. “I think going into Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and beating them by double digits — I’ve said this before, and I know we’re going into that league next year — if it were that easy, then other teams in the SEC would have done it the other 53 games that they went 52-1. So I’m proud of our guys for what we’ve accomplished up to this point to the season. We’ll see how the dust settles next week, but we’ve got to handle our business.
Texas will play either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game depending on Saturday’s results.
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report
