College football lives in a state of paranoia.
Losses come in waves, tending to hit when everyone least expects them. When expectations are through the roof, the gameplay usually comes crashing down. And when teams get comfortable … well, that’s just dangerous. College football is always making you check over your shoulder, wondering when instability will hit.
When Sam Houston State came into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, it felt like the first game this season where shoulders were being checked, thinking, “How good is this Texas team really?” After the rather inglorious win against the University of Texas at El Paso last week, no one knew how the Longhorns would execute against the Bearkats.
But that’s just college football. When you finally drop expectations, it throws a calm 55-0 win right in your face, and it knows it’s got you saying, “Here we go again.”
So, where does that leave the Texas faithful? And what do the chaotic trumpets of college football start to sing?
Well, one thing is for sure. Arch Manning got his swag back under the lights. His 309 yards with an 85.7% passing percentage, accompanied by three passing and two rushing touchdowns, show one thing, but his aura shows another. The young sophomore may have lacked personality in the first couple of games, but after his first rushing touchdown, Manning let it all out, staring down a Bearkat defender in the endzone.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian believes it stemmed from Manning’s frustrations against UTEP, but he’s not complaining. Sarkisian thinks Manning plays at his best when personality comes out.
“He just wants to be a really good teammate and a really good quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “I think everybody was genuinely happy for him tonight, that he was able to play the way that he played.”
Manning was excellent and looked to be in a flow state while on the turf. He finally connected on a long 53-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo, found his missing flame, junior receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., five times for 79 yards and completed 13 straight passing attempts to end his night. Yet, most importantly, Manning looked like he was having fun again.
“He got his swagger back,” senior safety Michael Taaffe said. “You can tell.”
But hold on, this was Sam Houston State. Now 0–4, outscored 171 to 65 through the season. A bottom-of-the-barrel team up against the preseason No. 1 school in the nation with a preseason Heisman candidate. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Remember, this is college football, don’t let it grab you with its deception and misconception.
Yes, Arch Manning did get his swag back. That looks to be a fact. But it was against a team on a failing season. The Southeastern Conference is around the corner. How can we be so sure that Texas football is ready?
Well, the reality is that we can’t. It’s more of a time-will-tell kind of situation. Here’s what we know. Texas’ only Power Five game was against then-No.3 now-No. 2 Ohio State, and it was a rather disappointing 14-7 loss. Then it was San Jose State and UTEP, where fans left the stadium scratching their heads. And now, after Sam Houston State, the Texas faithful finally got a little serenity.
The trap has been laid, Texas football is still unproven, and now it’s got to tussle against Gators in The Swamp.
As the Longhorns prepare for Gainesville in their bye week, the only certainty is the next chapter in this unpredictable season will reveal whether Saturday night was a turning point or just another mirage in college football’s haze of false comforts.
