Arch Manning is on the scoreboard.
The redshirt freshman quarterback completed his first college touchdown pass while adding another one on the ground in a 52-0 Texas rout of Colorado State on Saturday.
Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, got his chance to shine in the third quarter after starter Quinn Ewers had built an insurmountable 38-0 lead.
Texas started the drive at the Colorado State 49.
Manning took a snap out of the shotgun, faking a handoff before firing a pass past the sticks to Johntay Cook II, who scampered for a 40-yard pickup.
Two plays later on third-and-goal, Manning saw his receivers well covered so he scrambled out of the pocket and ran toward the line of scrimmage.
But instead of sticking with the run, he made a shovel pass to the near sideline to an open Silas Bolden, who sprinted toward the end zone before diving across the goal line for a score.
Manning wasn’t done there, however, as he led a methodical 11-play scoring drive in the fourth quarter, which was capped off by a quarterback keeper from the 1-yard line to score the Longhorns’ final touchdown of the day.
It was a big day for the 19-year-old, who finished his outing by completing five of six passes for 95 yards.
There were rumors before the 2024 season that Manning might transfer when likely Heisman candidate Quinn Ewers decided to stay at Texas for another year.
In July, though, Manning reiterated his intentions of staying in Austin for the long haul.
“It’s tough because you want to be out there playing with your boys,” Manning said during media availability at this year’s Manning Passing Academy, as reported by The Athletic.
“But [it came down to] just realizing there’s nowhere else I want to be, and it was my dream to play at Texas,” Manning said. “I’m going to stick it out and play there eventually.”
Texas has a huge test in Week 2 when it faces reigning national champion Michigan in Ann Arbor next Saturday night.
