Fans were not exactly impressed with Arch Manning on Saturday after he flexed on a defender during Texas’ game against Sam Houston State.
Texas led Sam Houston State 7-0 with under a minute left in the first quarter inside DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. Facing 2nd-and-goal, Manning faked the handoff and kept it himself for the Longhorns’ second rushing touchdown of the contest.
Bearkats linebacker Antavious Fish was the last line of defense, but failed to keep Manning out of the end zone. Fish flopped to the ground as Manning scored. Arch walked toward Fish and stared him down. The two exchanged words before getting separated by officials.
Arch Manning after scoring this TD 😤 pic.twitter.com/39fEnfclXi
— ESPN (@espn) September 21, 2025
This photo of Arch Manning's staredown 😮💨
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 21, 2025
(📸 @TexasFootball) pic.twitter.com/ZTygPaW3S8
While it was cool for Texas fans to see their quarterback show some swagger, not everyone was happy with Manning taunting Fish the way he did. Several fans called it cringey for Manning to goad a defender on a winless team like Sam Houston State.
Arch Manning has come off as this humble guy his entire career… but staring a guy from Sam Houston State down like this is CRINGE.
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 21, 2025
I get he’s having fun, but Arch hasn’t really earned the right to act like this quite yet.
pic.twitter.com/kh4FfeNLuV
Arch Manning flexing on Sam Houston state has to to be the cringiest play of the year
— Case 🏴☠️ (@TheWageMan) September 21, 2025
Arch Manning is big dogging a Sam Houston State player after a rushing TD, celebrating like he just scored the game winner against Ohio State.
— Johnny Armstrong (@joh12nny) September 21, 2025
Brother, you’re supposed to do that against SHSU…
Why was Arch Manning flexing on a Sam Houston defender? 🤨
— mj (@THEmj_naval) September 21, 2025
It’s Sam Houston, you’re the QB at Texas, and you have been mostly disappointing so far this season
Sam Houston State was meant to be a layup victory for No. 8 Texas. The Bearkats entered Saturday’s game with a 0-3 record, losing by exactly 17 points in each of their first three contests.
While Texas has won back-to-back games over UTEP and San Jose State, Manning has yet to silence his doubters. He went 11/25 for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception against UTEP and was outplayed by his counterpart, Malachi Nelson. Manning even heard some boos from Texas fans over his lackluster performance.
Manning went 18/21 for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns against Sam Houston State before being taken out of the game. He also rushed for 2 touchdowns. But a strong outing against Bearkats won’t erase the disappointment Longhorns supporters felt when Manning struggled mightily against Ohio State to open the season.
Barring a major midseason turnaround, Manning seems likely to pass on the NFL draft for at least another year.
