A week ago, the Texas Longhorns walked into the Cotton Bowl as the No. 1 team in the country. After a second straight 27-24 loss dropped the Longhorns to 4-2 on Saturday, Pro Football Network analyst Ian Cummings suggested Arch Manning might benefit from waiting until 2028 to enter the NFL Draft.

Arch Manning Urged to Return to Delay NFL Draft Again After Another Late Texas Loss

Cummings posted shortly after No. 7 Texas let a 17-3 lead slip away at home against a Florida team starting sophomore backup Tramell Jones Jr. in his first career start. Manning lost a fumble with 1:58 left and the Longhorns trailing by three.

Cummings framed the idea as a possibility rather than a prescription, but the list of concerns behind it ran long.

“At this rate, Arch Manning might be better served to stay in school thru ’28. The iron is cold,” Cummings wrote. “Still seems slow to process at times. Accuracy is a concern. Streaky vision, high pressure-to-sack %. Sark looks uncomfortable putting games on his shoulders. He has stagnated.”

On accuracy, Saturday cut both ways. Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown, but entering the fourth quarter he was averaging -0.7 air yards per completion, per the ESPN broadcast.

On pressure, Florida sacked him five times, and his 10 carries netted zero yards. Texas converted two of 10 third downs while the Gators piled up 24 straight points and held the ball for 38:11.

There were flashes. Manning escaped pressure to hit Emmett Mosley V for 62 yards, which set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman that cut the deficit to 27-24 with 4:21 left.

Texas got the ball back with a chance to win. That drive ended with the fumble, and Florida’s Kanye Clark recovered it.

For the second straight week, a late Manning turnover proved costly in a three-point loss. Against Oklahoma, he threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns.

But Peyton Bowen returned a fourth-quarter interception 42 yards for a score, and Courtland Guillory picked Manning off with 19 seconds left before the Sooners won 27-24 on a field goal as time expired.

Across the season, PFN’s CFB QB Impact Grade has Manning at 78.0, tied for 58th of 170 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, the other figure in Cummings’ post, talked about the whole offense after the game and put the blame on himself.

“We’re not playing good offensive football right now, so everything is going to be evaluated,” Sarkisian said.

He pointed to the Longhorns’ struggles on first down and in short-yardage situations, then added: “We’ve got a better team than how we’re playing right now. It’s my job to figure out how to get us to play closer to our potential.”

How Cummings’ View of Arch Manning Slid Over the Past Month

Saturday’s post capped a month in which Cummings’ view of Manning slipped one step at a time.

In his Sept. 19 three-round mock draft, he had the Atlanta Falcons trading up with the Miami Dolphins to take Manning first overall. Even then, Cummings wrote that Manning held the QB1 spot less because he had earned it than because no one else had.

He flagged late throws on crossing routes and slow transitions between reads, and said SEC play would give Manning a chance to seal the deal.

By Cummings’ Oct. 3 first-round mock, Manning had slipped to the Cleveland Browns at No. 4. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith went first overall, and Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss was the first quarterback off the board at No. 3.

Cummings wrote that Manning had the physical tools of a No. 1 pick but that his intangibles had not caught up as quickly as hoped this season.

During the Oklahoma game a week later, Cummings was still praising how Manning handled the blitz, posting that sliding away from pressure to hit deep throws against single coverage was where Manning was most dangerous and that he stayed poised against extra rushers. Seven days later, a high pressure-to-sack rate was on his list of concerns.

Passing on the draft would not be new for Manning. In December, he announced he would return for his junior season despite being draft-eligible, and staying through ’28 would mean a fifth college season in 2027 and the 2028 NFL Draft. As of this week, he had made no formal announcement about his plans.

Sarkisian left the door open both ways in June, saying on “Up and Adams” that he would not be surprised if Manning came back or if he declared. Some of that, he said then, would depend on how Texas played as a team this fall and how Manning played individually.