The Arch Manning hype train is all the way back after Citrus Bowl domination

Many fans billed Arch Manning as the next big thing entering the 2025 season, a notion that quickly unraveled in just a few games. Now, after ending the year by dismantling Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, the Texas quarterback is back on top of the college football world.

As the preseason No. 1-ranked team, Texas underwhelmed in 2025 with a 10-3 season that caused it to miss the College Football Playoffs. Manning’s early-season struggles played a big part in their shortcomings, despite his listing as the Week 1 Heisman Trophy favorite.

Sports fans are notoriously unforgiving, and fans are never more critical than they are with failed hype trains. Everyone quickly decided that Manning fell into that category after he accumulated just six touchdowns and three interceptions in his first three games of the year.

If the Manning hype was not already dead by that point, it was almost entirely killed off just two weeks later, when the prodigy threw two more interceptions and absorbed six sacks in a brutal 29-21 loss to a struggling Florida team. At that point, even Texas fans were ready to call it and began to question how much they took Quinn Ewers for granted.

In hindsight, maybe everybody should not have gotten so excited about a player whose only two starts before the 2025 season came against ULM and a 2-12 Mississippi State team. The expectations were too much, making his fall from grace appear much steeper than it should have been.

Whether it was fair or not, Manning had to climb himself out of a hole. He quietly did just that, throwing 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his final six games of the year.

His late-year crescendo culminated in a near-perfect outing at the Citrus Bowl against a depleted but gritty Michigan football team. People never forget, but perhaps they are ready to forgive.

Texas could be preseason No. 1 team yet again

Before Texas took the field against Michigan, Manning already announced he would return to Austin for his redshirt junior season in 2026. Despite being the preseason favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, it is certainly the right decision.

Fans might not be ready to trust Texas again after how its 2025 season went, but Manning’s return could lead to Texas being the preseason No. 1 team for the second consecutive year. The Longhorns will lose a significant amount of talent to the NFL Draft, but the Citrus Bowl was not just a coming-out party for Manning.

Freshman running back Christian Clark came out of nowhere with a career-high 105-yard game against Michigan’s top-15 run defense. Sophomore wideout Emmett Mosley V returned from a month-long absence to catch a team-high five passes, while freshman Kaliq Lockett showed off his burst and contested catch ability on an impressive 30-yard touchdown catch against veteran cornerback Jyaire Hill.

Clark, Mosley and Lockett are all expected to return in 2026. The promise they showed adds to the excitement and anticipation, with fans already expecting a big second-year leap from Manning’s close friend and roommate, Parker Livingstone.

The Citrus Bowl was a full Arch Manning legacy game, but it showed just a glimpse of what the Longhorns can be at their full potential. The 2025 season was never going to be the year Manning put it all together, but 2026 is looking like it will be.

The Arch Manning Heisman Trophy, NFL Draft hype is back

More than anything else, Manning finally showed the full arsenal everybody knew he always had. His arm talent, timing, touch and mobility were all in sync on the biggest stage of his career, as he easily picked apart Wink Martindale’s helpless defense.

Michigan played without star defenders Jaishawn Barham, Ernest Hausmann and Rod Moore, but Manning finally proved how lethal he can be against a respected program on a big stage. It was the exact performance he needed to silence critics who said he was not ready for the spotlight.

It was not a perfect game from Manning, who easily could have had a 300-yard outing if his young receivers were in rhythm. If anything, the numerous drops his teammates committed only bolstered Manning’s case and the general opinions of viewers.

Manning had several elite performances down the stretch — he topped 320 passing yards in three of his final five regular season games — but the Citrus Bowl was where it all came together. His performance was strong enough to sway some of his biggest doubters, including Paul Finebaum, who was once his biggest supporter, back on his side.

Judging by his preseason expectations, Manning’s 2025 season was still a disappointment. He was billed as the clear favorite to be the 2026 No. 1 pick and a shoo-in for the Heisman, falling well short of both projections.

The momentum, however, is now fully back on his side. Manning could end his college football career with a Heisman Trophy and as the No. 1 NFL Draft prospect, just a full year after everyone expected it to come. The Arch Manning hype is back, and it might be even stronger than it has ever been.

The post The Arch Manning hype train is all the way back after Citrus Bowl domination appeared first on ClutchPoints.