How Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns grade in midseason report card

A season that began with the highest of hopes has reached a critical point for Texas football, which spent four weeks atop The Associated Press poll before tumbling to No. 19 after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida.

Are the Longhorns (4-2, 1-2 SEC) still a College Football Playoff contender? Or are they doomed for another loss or two in a grueling upcoming schedule that still features three ranked teams as well as rivals Arkansas and Texas A&M. Head coach Steve Sarkisian, quarterback Arch Manning and several other players seem confident that Texas can ace the rest of this season’s tests, but the team has earned a mixed report card through the first six games.

Here’s how the Longhorns grade out at the midpoint of the 2026 season.

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Quarterback: C

For a fourth-year senior in his second season as a starter, Manning plays with a decided lack of confidence. He ranks in the bottom half of the SEC in passing yards (1,295), passing touchdowns (11) and completion percentage (63.9), and often seems reluctant to “let it rip,” which is how he describes his ideal playing style. That indecisiveness has helped lead to 17 sacks, the third most by any quarterback in the SEC. He’s also rushed for just 102 yards without a touchdown, a puzzling lack of playmaking for a 6-foot-4, 225-pound athlete who picked up 399 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground a year ago. But Manning can still flash moments of brilliance like he did in the second week of the season when Texas scored touchdowns on its final three drives of the game to stun then No. 1 Ohio State 24-23. He just needs to make those moments more the norm than the exception.

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Running backs: B-

Texas jettisoned CJ Baxter and Tre Wisner in the offseason and signed former all-conference backs Hollywood Smothers (North Carolina State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State). But Texas’ ground game has dropped a tick; the Longhorns average 135 yards per game and 3.6 yards a carry this year compared to 137.8 yards a game and 4.2 yards a carry in 2025. Manning’s lack of production accounts for those lower numbers, but Smothers (65 carries, 298 yards) and Brown (61, 265) have had pedestrian production. At least each contributes a little in the passing game with 10 catches apiece. By the way, Baxter has rumbled for 484 yards and five touchdowns with a 5.6 yards-per-carry average while rejuvenating his career with Kentucky.

Receivers: C+

Based on the financial investment that Texas made by signing Cam Coleman from Auburn, a unit with four potential pros has underwhelmed. The Longhorns don’t have a single wideout in the top 15 in the SEC in receptions or receiving yards, although the big-play Coleman (20 catches, 336 yards) is tied for the conference lead with six receiving touchdowns. Junior Ryan Wingo (26 catches, 345 yards) is averaging a career-low 13.3 yards per catch, but Emmett Mosley V (19 catches, 292) is a reliable target and freshman Jermaine Bishop Jr. (10 catches, 120 yards) seems to improve each game. The tight ends remain invisible in the passing game; Emaree Winston leads the unit with six catches for 70 yards, which is well off the pace set by former Longhorns tight ends in the Sarkisian era like Ja’Tavion Sanders and Gunnar Helm.

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Offensive line: C+

For some reason, the pieces of a talented line don’t add up to a cohesive unit. Left tackle Trevor Goosby and right tackle Melvin Siani both project as early-round NFL picks and center Connor Robertson and right guard Brandon Baker have started multiple seasons for the Longhorns. Even left guard Dylan Sikorski has been a pleasant surprise, earning the starting job after serving as a part-time starter at Oregon State. But depth hasn’t developed, and the numbers don’t lie: Texas ranks next-to last in league play in total yards (307.3 yards per game) and rushing yards (96.0), and the team also struggles to convert short-yardage situations and has just a third-down conversion rate of 41.7%.  

Defensive line: B+

The mercurial Colin Simmons has been one of the nation’s best edge rushers since arriving at Texas in 2024, and he’s peaking as a junior with an NCAA-high 10½ sacks. But Texas better hope his ankle injury that he suffered Saturday against Florida isn’t too serious, since tackle Maraad Watson (3½ sacks) is the only other Longhorn with more than one sack. Watson and Hero Kanu have 16 tackles apiece and have emerged as the most effective interior linemen, while end Lance Jackson (13 tackles) keeps improving in his  first season as a starter. Depth remains a concern, but edge rushers Richard Wesley and Zina Umeozulu may soon get a chance to show their stuff.

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Linebackers: B

Rasheem Biles (49 tackles) and Justin Cryer (38) both arrived in the portal during this year from Syracuse and Florida State, respectively, and both play a big role for a defense that’s allowing a league-low 257.3 yards in SEC play. But the team hasn’t overcome the loss of Ty’Anthony Smith in the preseason after Sarkisian cut the veteran for conduct detrimental to the team, which means Biles and Cryer are playing heavy minutes. Both need to make more plays in league play, too; the Longhorns are the only squad in the SEC without a takeaway.

Defensive backs: B-

Senior safety Jelani McDonald remains an old-school enforcer whose 42 tackles is second-most on the team behind Biles, and he’s reliably rangy in coverage, too. Cornerbacks Bo Mascoe and Kade Phillips play the edge with a physicality that defensive coordinator Will Mushamp likes, even if they do draw the occasional flag. The unit leads the SEC in pass defense with 153.7 yards allowed per game in league play and an SEC-low 7.95 yards per completion. But the Longhorns’ only interception of the season came on a late pick by elite slot cornerback Graceson Littleton against Ohio State, and Texas needs to make more plays if it wants to rank as one of the nation’s top secondaries.

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Special teams: C

It’s been a roller coaster of a season for longtime special teams coach Jeff Banks. The Longhorns gave up a punt return for a touchdown in a win at Tennessee and had a punt blocked for a touchdown in the loss to Oklahoma. But the unit made its own big play, too, when Ryan Niblett became just the third player in program history with three punt touchdowns in his career against Florida. First-year punter Mac Chiumento ranks just 10th in the SEC with a 41.3 average, and the unit has suffered some lineup issues that have cost the team a couple of timeouts. Transfer kicker Gianni Spetic has been a bright spot with nine field goals on 10 tries, even though the one miss did prove costly late against OU.

Coaching: C

Sarkisian, who also serves as Texas’ offensive coordinator, has spent more than two decades establishing his reputation as one of the game’s premier play callers. But it’s been a rough season on the play sheet for the sixth-year head coach. Fourth-down calls have backfired, short-yardage plays get stuffed and Sarkisian is enduring one of his worst offenses in a long career full of points. One sign of progress: The Longhorns have the second-fewest penalties in the SEC, a point of emphasis for Sarkisian in the offseason.

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This article originally published at How Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns grade in midseason report card.