Arch Manning grabbed early headlines to open the 2025 season, but a sluggish start and early struggles against Power Four opponents drew criticism. While Texas’ late push wasn’t enough to reach the College Football Playoff, Manning closed the year strong, leading the Longhorns to a 41-27 win over the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines in Wednesday night’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Arch Manning Produces Generational Numbers Not Seen in Three Decades
ESPN’s Mark Jones called Manning as “Manning the Magician” during Wednesday’s game, and the Texas quarterback actually played like a pro against Michigan. He put the Longhorns ahead 24-20 with a 23-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, then struck again just over four minutes later with a 30-yard touchdown pass to push Texas in front 31-27.
Manning later sealed the outcome by racing 60 yards for another touchdown to extend the Longhorns’ lead to 11 points with five minutes remaining. He finished the game with 21-of-34 for 221 passing yards and two touchdowns without an interception, while also piling up 155 rushing yards and two more scores.
With that performance, Manning became the only quarterback at the FBS or NFL level over the past 30 seasons to record a single game featuring at least 200 passing yards, 150 rushing yards, multiple passing touchdowns, multiple rushing touchdowns, zero sacks, zero turnovers, and 15.0 or more yards per rush.
Manning also came close to matching one of his uncle Peyton’s iconic bowl records, finishing just one touchdown shy of tying the former Super Bowl QB’s five-touchdown outing for Tennessee against Northwestern in the 1997 Citrus Bowl. However, the Michigan win left the Texas QB focused on bigger goals.
“Nothing against the Citrus Bowl, but I think he played in it twice,” Manning said in his postgame conference. “I don’t want to have to play in it twice.”
Manning currently holds an 83.1 grade in the PFSN CFB QB Metric. Social media erupted with praise for his performance on Wednesday, drawing acclaim from voices ranging from Skip Bayless to former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart. It also helps Texas that Manning has decided not to enter the NFL Draft and will return next season.
Even with his decision already made, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg offered a bold take on where Manning would have landed had he declared.
MORE: Arch Manning Could Land Nation’s Touchdown Leader As Texas Pursues Transfer Portal Star
Even though Manning’s draft decision is already clear, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg had a bold prediction for the Texas QB’s draft pick if he had chosen to go pro.
“I’m glad Arch Manning is going back to school. There’s no reason for him to rush through this stage of his life and career. But, if he was in this draft I think he would be the number one pick,” Greenberg tweeted.
Manning said that his main priority remains continued improvement, though the win over Michigan was precisely the kind of finish he wanted to build momentum heading into the offseason.
“It meant a lot,” Manning said. “Just staying the course and continuing to compete. We had a month of preparation before this. It was cool to cap it off the way we did.”
While the on-field brilliance drew most of the attention, Manning’s off-field presence stood out as well on Wednesday. After the win, he made a point to seek out Michigan freshman QB Bryce Underwood, tracking him down to connect and show respect following the game.
