Steve Sarkisian says Arch Manning expectations were ‘out of control’
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Steve Sarkisian wasn’t excusing his team’s loss or his quarterback’s performance as a whole.
What the Texas head coach wanted to get across to reporters after Saturday’s 14-7 loss to Ohio State was that his quarterback — the much-hyped Arch Manning — was going to be OK, and that perhaps the expectations for the college football celebrity were a little out of hand.
“For Arch, the expectations were out of control on the outside. I’d say let’s finish the book before we judge him. That’s one chapter,” coach Steve Sarkisian said after the loss.
Manning struggled for most of Saturday’s game, throwing an interception and failing to convert on a crucial fourth-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard-line midway through the third quarter. Manning’s quarterback sneak — with a shot at tying the game at 7-7 — was snuffed out by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State ultimately went up 14-0, but Manning started to show some signs of settling in, as Sarkisian pointed out afterward, even though it couldn’t prevent Texas from becoming the first preseason No. 1 team to lose its season opener since 1990.
Now, it was a mostly ugly first chapter for Manning, who finished 17-of-30 for 170 yards passing, with 1 late touchdown pass that got Texas back in it and the 1 interception. Manning had the ball in his hands at the end for the chance to tie the game, but he couldn’t pull off the miracle on Saturday.
Sarkisian’s point is that Manning has plenty of time ahead of him to try to build his legacy in Austin.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
