- NCAA Get the best tickets for football games at Tickets MARCA
- NCAA Deion Sanders makes bold statement about Colorado's opponents that some call "arrogant"
Before the college football season started, there's no doubt that Steve Sarkisian saw this season going much differently. The Texas Longhorns were the No. 1 team in the nation by general consensus, with quarterback Arch Manning primed for a Heisman Trophy winning campaign. Instead, Manning's flaws have been exposed and Texas already has two losses.
Despite the unsatisfactory first eight games of the season, the Longhorns are still in the College Football Playoff hunt. They have grinded out three straight wins, setting up a massive stretch of games to close out the season: vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt, at No. 5 Georgia, vs. Arkansas and vs. No. 3 Texas A&M. In order to win all, or even some of those games, Manning will have to play much better than he has to this point.
Steve Sarkisian showers praise on Diego Pavia ahead of Texas-Vanderbilt
It all starts against Vanderbilt, where Sarkisian sees a quarterback who is playing at a higher level than Manning so far this season. Texas' head coach had nothing but praise for Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia ahead of the teams' matchup this weekend.
"Obviously, the QB is the tip of the spear. He's one of the more competitive players I've competed against. He's their leading rusher. He obviously passes the ball. He makes plays at critical moments when they need to have it. All the praise that he's getting is well-deserved."
Sarkisian saw Pavia firsthand in 2024, when the Longhorns beat Vanderbilt in a very close game. Vanderbilt was ranked No. 25 at the time, while Texas was No. 5. The Longhorns defense did a good job on Pavia, forcing him into two interceptions, but Pavia ended up throwing for two scores while adding another on the ground along with 67 rushing yards.
This is obviously a different Texas team, and Manning didn't even play in the first meeting with Pavia. Pavia is playing at a higher level this season than he was at that time in 2024. Sarkisian knows the threat he poses, so expect a specific defensive gameplan to try to neutralize his playmaking abilities.