Texas fans aren’t loving Arch Manning’s ugly first interception of 2026

There is little doubt that the Texas Longhorns have high aspirations this season. They went into the season opener as the fifth-ranked team in the nation and QB Arch Manning is the presumptive favorite in many corners to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

Arch Manning throws his first INT of the season to end the half against Texas State. pic.twitter.com/MRBJOubKHM

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 5, 2026

Manning was certainly mentioned for that award at this time last year, but he got off to a very slow start and that hurt his chances of contending for the trophy that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza brought home. Manning would certainly like to emulate what Mendoza accomplished last season. In addition to winning that vaunted trophy, he led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 season, the national championship and he became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

Manning led the Longhorns to a 59-7 victory over Texas State in the season opener. He had no trouble driving his team up and down the field through the first three quarters and the Longhorns did what they were supposed to against the underdog Bobcats. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards with 4 touchdowns.

Manning interception gets noticed

However, Manning was not perfect and that may be what Longhorn fans are expecting from their top signal caller. He threw a questionable interception at the end of the first half that will be difficult for Manning to explain when his coaches go over the play with the quarterback.

The Longhorns were leading 28-7 with 17 seconds remaining in the first half when he fired the ball into the end zone into triple coverage. The result was an interception on a ball that Manning should not have thrown.

While the interception did not hurt the Longhorns against against Texas State, Texas will host Ohio State in Week 2 of the college football season. A similar interception could have a devastating impact on the outcome against that opponent.

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