Arch Manning’s first big moment for Texas football, plus 2 SEC close calls

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Cal coach Justin Wilcox used the ref’s microphone to beg fans to stop throwing cards on the field because the Bears were being hit with 15-yard penalties. Just another night with ACC After Dark.

Manning’s Moment

Texas backup accounts for 5 TDs

Texas’ Quinn Ewers, who has looked like the best quarterback in the country this season, exited the Longhorns’ 56-7 win against UTSA in the second quarter with a strained abdomen. After the game, coach Steve Sarkisian said the injury was non-contact and that the seriousness of it “remains to be seen.”

Ewers’ absence opened the door for backup Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie, to record his first extended game time for Texas. His final stat line: 9-for-12 for 223 yards, four TDs, plus three carries for 53 yards and one score. I asked The Athletic’s Texpert, Sam Khan to break down the 19-year-old’s performance for us today:

“He showed off all the traits that made him such a coveted recruit. He was accurate, decisive, showed off his arm strength and his athleticism.

“His 67-yard touchdown run, on his third play of the game, showed just how athletic he is. ‘I think he got his grandpa’s athleticism, I don’t know if he got his uncles’,” coach Steve Sarkisian joked.

“But his arm talent was also evident. His final touchdown pass to Johntay Cook was perfectly placed in the back corner of the end zone. Earlier in that drive, he scrambled to his left and uncorked a beauty to freshman Ryan Wingo.

“More than anything, Manning looked comfortable, which is encouraging considering how little playing time he has had since arriving. This was just his fourth career appearance and only his second with more than two series of action. If Ewers misses time and the Longhorns must start Manning, it looks like they’ll be in great hands.” — Khan

SEC Heartbreakers

The upsets that could have been

The underdogs made convincing cases but fell just short of pulling off big wins.

💔 Kentucky drops a 13-12 decision to No. 1 Georgia. There’s just something about Georgia and Kentucky’s Kroger Field. Two years after skating by in a low-scoring 16-6 win and four years after winning 14-3, the No. 1 Bulldogs once again were tested in Lexington. Kentucky led 6-3 at halftime and held the Bulldogs without a TD through three quarters. But Kirby Smart’s team did just enough in the second half to win, even if it marked the lowest-scoring Georgia performance since Sept. 4, 2021, against Clemson. Kentucky has gone two straight weeks without scoring a TD (but, for the record, nobody has reached the end zone against Georgia this season).

💔 South Carolina had a prime opportunity to top No. 16 LSU but lost 36-33. The Gamecocks surged to a 17-0 lead early. But as LSU closed the gap, two South Carolina pick sixes were called back because of penalties, only further opening the door for the Tigers. The Gamecocks attempted a 49-yard field goal to tie the score as time expired, but the kick veered just left. LSU made plenty of mistakes, but South Carolina couldn’t hold onto its lead to pull out the early conference win despite the Tigers looking extremely vulnerable.

Week 3 Trending

FSU still falling, Texas A&M rises

📉 In case you haven’t checked, Florida State, which entered this season as the No. 10 team in the country, still hasn’t won. The Seminoles lost 20-12 to Memphis (where Mike Norvell was head coach from 2016-19 before being hired away to Tallahassee) to fall to 0-3. At one point, QB DJ Uiagalelei was 5 of 5 passing for 7 yards. It was another embarrassing performance that begs the question: How does a team win 13 games one year and turn into an absolute train wreck the next?

📈 Texas A&M beat Florida 33-20 in a game that felt much more one-sided. It marked the Aggies’ first true road win since Oct. 16, 2021, and they did so with backup QB Marcel Reed (starter Conner Weigman was out with a shoulder injury). Meanwhile, it feels like Florida coach Billy Napier’s seat is getting hotter and hotter.

📉 Wisconsin has been trending this way for a while, but a 42-10 romp by No. 4 Alabama — the Badgers’ worst home defeat in 16 years — exposed how far Luke Fickell’s program is from success. Wisconsin QB Tyler Van Dyke exited the game with a right knee injury, but the Badgers’ issues run far deeper than the quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide solidified themselves as College Football Playoff frontrunners. Next up? No. 1 Georgia.

📈 No. 18 Notre Dame recovered from last week’s shocking loss to Northern Illinois with a 66-7 win at Purdue. It was the Fighting Irish’s largest win since 1996. Both QB Riley Leonard and RB Jeremiyah Love rushed for 100 yards. (If you’re curious about Northern Illinois, the Huskies did not play.)

Early Rivalry Fun

Backyard Brawl brings the heat

A few West Coast rivalries were in action yesterday (No. 12 Utah rallied to beat Utah State 38-21 and Colorado bounced back to beat Colorado State 28-9). As for the revenge of the Pac-12 …

• No. 9 Oregon woke up in its 49-14 beatdown of Oregon State. The Ducks were lights-out in the second half, outgaining the Beavs 330-89 and outscoring them 27-0. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel completed 20-of-24 passes for 291 yards and two TDs while rushing for 64 yards and a score. Special points for the uniform matchup in this one — it was crisp. And while Oregon State’s future looks clearer after Pac-12 expansion, the future of this Civil War rivalry remains in question.
• Washington State won the Apple Cup, 24-19 win against Washington. WSU QB John Mateer threw for 245 yards and one TD while leading the Cougars on the ground with 16 carries for 62 yards and another two TDs. The Cougars solidified the neutral-site win at the Seahawks’ stadium with a late goal-line stand.

But it was a rivalry in the East that stole the show:

• The Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pitt proved to be one of the most exciting games yesterday. The Panthers were victorious 38-34, marking their second consecutive come-from-behind win. The Mountaineers’ Justin Robinson made a one-handed TD catch in the fourth quarter that was highlight-worthy, but Pitt scored two TDs in the final 3:06. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t shy away from his thoughts on the officiating: “We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials, too, in the same game,” he said. Narduzzi’s Panthers had 12 penalties for 112 yards while WVU was called for seven for 67 yards.

Quick Snaps

A whooping cough outbreak at Portland State caused the Vikings to call off their game versus South Dakota.

Nebraska is 3-0 for the first time since 2016 with Big Ten play on deck. The Huskers avoided a misstep in a 34-3 win against Northern Iowa yesterday.

What did we learn about the College Football Playoff race in Week 3? The SEC could dominate this year’s field … and one of its teams is still massively underrated.

Read Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts from Week 3 here.

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(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)