Arch Manning had no clue about The Athletic diss— until now

Arch Manning had no clue about The Athletic diss— until now originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning said he had no idea about a recent article from The Athletic that labeled him “college football’s first flop.” At least that was until a reporter brought it up in Monday's press conference.

"I didn't know that. I guess I do now," Manning said. "I mean, look, I wasn't playing well, and I'm going to continue to get better. But you know, everyone has their own opinion. You know, that's what's good about America, you get freedom of speech. But it doesn't bother me."

Manning didn’t touch his phone in the days leading up to last Saturday’s 23-6 win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma. The performance was arguably Manning’s best against a Power Four opponent. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, added 34 yards on the ground and guided the Longhorns to 10-of-17 conversions on third down against the nation’s top third-down defense.

Love these answers from Arch Manning when asked by @AnwarRichardson about blocking out the outside noise - and how he felt about being called a "flop" by a national publication:

"Yeah - I didn't know that. I guess I do now!" (laughter)#HookEm@fox7austinpic.twitter.com/sVacZ7dorp

— Dennis de la Pena (@dennisonfox7) October 13, 2025

The article in question was written by The Athletic’s Will Leitch, who explained how Manning had failed to live up to the enormous hype. The nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning was undoubtedly the preseason frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.

However, Leitch called out the quarterback’s national visibility and extensive endorsements, including commercials for major brands, while calling his play underwhelming for a team that began the year ranked No. 1.

Manning brushed off the criticism when asked about it after the Oklahoma game.

“I feel like I try to do my best with blocking out the noise, and then you get a hundred text messages telling you to keep blocking out noise,” he said. "There must be a lot of noise." 

Through six starts, Manning has thrown for 1,317 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Over his last three games, he’s completed 71.4% of his passes with six touchdowns and two picks, showing clear signs of progress.

No. 21 Texas continues a long stretch away from Austin this week, traveling to Kentucky for the program’s first-ever matchup with the Wildcats on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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