Steve Sarkisian says Texas needs ‘better version’ of Arch Manning in Week 8
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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian met with reporters on Monday afternoon in advance of UT’s crucial Week 8 game against Ole Miss.
Sarkisian acknowledged that Texas needs to see improvement from quarterback Arch Manning this week. Manning has struggled for much of the 2026 season and made a variety of errors in back-to-back losses to Florida and Oklahoma.
Following a report that backup KJ Lacey would receive more first-team reps in practice, Sarkisian confirmed that Texas is expecting more out of Manning moving forward.
“There’s no doubt about it, Arch can play better for us,” Sarkisian said. “He’s our starter. But I need to see a better version of Arch Manning, like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team. But we need to see a better version of him this week.”
Here’s a clip of Sarkisian’s remarks:
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Manning entered the season as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate but, for the second year in a row, has failed to live up to those lofty expectations. Manning has an 11-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio through the first 6 games of the season and has made a number of mistakes in key moments.
Texas and Ole Miss will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Austin.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
