Steve Sarkisian argues fans, media would be ‘praising’ Arch Manning if name was ‘Joe Smith’
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The Texas Longhorns lost for the first time this season in Week 6, 27-24 to the Oklahoma Sooners. Quarterback Arch Manning, who threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, has some blame for the negative result.
His turnovers led to criticism from Paul Finebaum and Joel Klatt, among others, in the aftermath of the defeat. But his head coach has his back.
On Monday, Steve Sarkisian spoke out in support of his quarterback. He claimed Manning’s detractors are only talking down on the passer because of his last name.
“If you took the name off the back of his jersey, and you said, ‘here’s Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas,’ we’d be praising the guy,” Sarkisian said, according to On3’s Tyler Horka.
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Manning’s 260 passing yards against the Sooners were his most in a game since Week 1. His three passing touchdowns were a season-high, but the interceptions outweighed those positive contributions. Without them, the Longhorns almost certainly would have beaten their Red River rival, whom they outgained by 144 yards (382-238).
Manning and Sarkisian couldn’t ask for a much better matchup to potentially change the narrative around the signal-caller. Texas faces Florida, whose secondary just allowed LaNorris Sellers to throw for 279 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday, in Week 7.
