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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Arch Manning is under fire again after Texas has suffered back-to-back losses to unranked Oklahoma and Florida, both ending 27-24. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in the country just a couple of weeks ago, but they've since dropped to No. 19 and head into Saturday night's clash against No. 7 Ole Miss with the potential to become unranked themselves with a loss.
Manning's performance through the first half of the season has been disappointing, and he's arguably more responsible than anyone for both of Texas' losses this season. Through six games, Manning has completed 63.9% of his passes for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. He's also taken 17 sacks and given up multiple costly turnovers late in games.
But recently, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow came to the defense of Manning, with fans calling for head coach Steve Sarkisian to bench the star quarterback in favor of redshirt freshman KJ Lacey, who's gotten more reps with the first-team offense this week.
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"It's easy to just jump on the bandwagon of criticizing the young man. I just don't believe it's fair, I don't believe it's accurate," Tebow said. "Yes, I think Arch needs to improve, I think he will improve, and he has to make more plays. I think it's going to start by taking easy throws in front of him and not forcing it down the field when there's double-coverage. But equally as important, he's got to get more help. His offensive line has to improve. His receivers, although they're really talented, they also have to improve when they're getting one-on-one."
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Manning's season has been disappointing because of the enormous expectations that he came in with. He has been the most talked-about quarterback in college football for the last couple of years, but the Longhorns still have yet to make the College Football Playoff with him as the starter.
But Tebow's also right that it's not all on him. Protection has clearly been a problem, with Manning absorbing 17 sacks, the third-most in the SEC, and he hasn't had a consistent run game either, with injuries across the offensive line and recently to lead back Hollywood Smothers, who's set to miss Saturday's contest against Ole Miss. Manning has made some bad mistakes this season, but the issues go beyond the quarterback.
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Texas is 4-2 heading into the Ole Miss game and 1-2 in SEC play. The Rebels, meanwhile, are 5-1 and 3-1 in conference play. A win would give the Longhorns a much-needed boost heading into the back half of the season and help revive their fading playoff hopes, potentially helping quiet the Manning critics as well. But another loss would drop them to 4-3 and make it nearly impossible to make the CFP. The optics alone might be enough for Steve Sarkisian to turn to Lacey as the starter.
After the Rebels, Texas will host Mississippi State before tough road games at No. 22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU. They'll then face Arkansas at home, followed by a rivalry match against Texas A&M at Kyle Field to close out the regular season.
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