Nick Saban on Arch Manning's job security as Texas QB1: 'The bench is a pretty good motivator'

Entering last Saturday’s game against No. 7 Ole Miss, the Texas Longhorns were in a bit of a free fall. Texas had lost two consecutive games to unranked opponents, which dropped them from No. 1 to No. 19 in the AP Poll. This also slapped two losses on the Longhorns mid-way through the month of October, which certainly did not bode well for their College Football Playoff hopes. A big factor in Texas‘ losses to Oklahoma and Florida was the less-than-stellar play of quarterback Arch Manning. Manning, who has served as the program’s starting quarterback since the start of the 2025 season, coughed up late, costly turnovers in both games which led to back-to-back 27-24 losses. Heading into the game against the Rebels, Manning’s job security was truly in jeopardy for the first time. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage The third-generation quarterback certainly heard all the noise, and bounced back with a strong performance in the win over the Rebels. Manning passed for 212 yards and one touchdown, along with rushing for two more scores. Although he did throw multiple interceptions for the second time in a game this season, Texas was able to secure the 34-27 victory. It was the Longhorns’ third win of the season over a top-15 ranked opponent. Looking forward at the remainder of Texas‘ schedule, the Longhorns will face Mississippi State, Missouri, No. 15 LSU, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. Sitting at 5-2 on the season, Texas would likely have to 4-1, at the worst, to keep their CFP dreams alive. In order to do so, Manning will have to continue to play at the level expected of him in Austin. Nick Saban opens up about Arch Manning’s job security, motivation On Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, legendary head coach Nick Saban opened up about Manning’s job security as the Longhorns’ QB. Along with claiming it’s ‘up to Arch’ whether or not he can keep his job, Saban discussed using a potential benching as motivation for star players who are underperforming. “I think that’s up to Arch,” Saban said. “I think Sark made it very clear when he had a meeting with Arch and said to him, ‘look, we can’t win with this guy; the guy who is playing the way he did in a couple of games. We can’t win with that guy’. It’s always a tough decision for a coach to make a change like that when you have a high-profile player who is very capable and has shown at times he’s very capable. But, at the same time, if Arch doesn’t continue to play with consistency, Sark’s gonna keep [the option of making a QB change] in the bag. “I always say the bench is a pretty good motivator, especially if the guy is a good competitor. Which, I think Arch is. The threat that he may not be entitled to the job may be something that keeps him motivated through the season. It’s important that Texas wins out. He’s gonna have to play well for them to be able to do that.” Heading into the Ole Miss game, head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed that backup K.J. Lacey was receiving more first-team reps in practice. He, however, did not appear in the game against the Rebels in relief of Manning at any time.