Things are far from perfect for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns through the first six games of the season. In the span of just seven days, Arch Manning and Co. went from the No. 1 team in the country to potentially tumbling out of the College Football Playoff entirely.
In the Red River Rivalry against the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas crumbled in the second half and lost to a team that was 2-2 with a moribund offense entering the matchup in Dallas. And then things somehow got worse against a Florida team that has been absolutely reeling over the past couple weeks. Texas couldn't hold on to an early 17-3 lead, losing to a Gators team that was coming off blowout losses to Missouri and South Carolina.
That, folks, is bad.
And unfortunately for Longhorn fans, it doesn't seem liable to get much better. The Longhorns are talented, don’t get me wrong, but they don't look capable of competing for a national title — the clear-cut goal this season in Manning's fourth year on campus and second as the full-time starter.
So let’s take a step back, look at everything, and deal out some grades for the Longhorns through their first six weeks of what's been a nightmare season.
Manning supposedly has Heisman-level talent, but he's not performing like it. And while that in and of itself is a problem, it is starting to feel even worse when you look at how he's playing compared to his early-season struggles from last year.
Through the first six games of the 2025 season for Texas, Manning completed 63 percent of his passes for 1317 yards, 12 touchdowns and five picks. He averaged just 219.5 passing yards per game along with one interception per game. Now, he did run for an additional 194 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns, but his numbers as a whole weren't amazing.
Somehow, they're worse this year. He’s completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 1295 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing five interceptions. 215.8 passing yards per game. Just under interception per game. And he’s run for 102 yards and has zero touchdowns on the ground so far.
I think it’d be fair to give Arch a D+ for how he’s shown up through his first six games. He might be talented, but the results aren't commensurate with someone who can lead his team to a national title.
The Longhorns’ offense overall looks overwhelmingly average so far, especially relative to its on-paper talent.
Just like with Arch, there’s plenty of time to get back on track and produce at the level that they are capable of. But right now, Steve Sarkisian and co-offensive coordinators of Kyle Flood and A.J. Milwee have got to get something figured out in a hurry. Because while Manning is continuing to struggle, the offense as a whole is just not producing, from a running game that can't keep things on schedule to an offensive line that can't give Arch the time he needs.
Through the first six games of the season, Texas has the No. 93 total offense in the country as the Longhorns are averaging just 361.3 yards per game. In scoring offense, Texas is sitting at No. 63, scoring 30.2 points per game. Right now, it really doesn’t seem like this team is ready to win many shootouts should they ever present themselves. That feels far from ideal for a group this talented.
Will Muschamp’s defense deserves plenty of credit through six games. It's not a perfect group, but it's doing a solid job of keeping Texas competitive despite the dysfunction on the other side of the ball.
While things on the offensive side are less than ideal, Muschamp’s return to Austin has yielded nothing but consistently impressive results in the first six games of the 2026 season. Yes, there were a bunch of yards given up to Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State's passing attack, but that man is just flat out unstoppable, I can't really fault UT for that. And when it mattered against the Buckeyes, Muschamp's unit bowed up.
The Longhorns are limiting opposing offenses to just 17.8 points per game, which ranks as the No. 28 scoring defense in the country at this point in the season. Pair that sort of success with UT’s ability to shut down opposing running attacks — they're giving up just 106.3 rushing yards per game, good for No. 28 in the country — and this team has some very real potential that just hasn’t been fully realized yet.Â
But is the defense always going to have to bail the offense out? Will this group have the depth necessary to do that without getting consistently worn down because of how often the Texas offense is sitting on the sidelines due to unsustained drives? They're simply spending too much time on the field right now, and with Colin Simmons set to miss time with an ankle injury, the dam could give soon.
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