Sarkisian reveals Vince Young’s ‘desire’ after wild Arch Manning TD

Arch Manning he already had a historic night against arkansas, but the performance also provided a perfect snapshot of what Texas football wants to be under Steve Sarkisian. In a 52-37 victory that kept the Longhorns at 8-3 and firmly in the New Year’s Six and fringe CFP conversation, Manning became the first player in program history to record a touchdown passrushing and receiving touchdown in the same game, piling up six total scores in a career-defining outing.

One of those touchdowns came on a trick play straight out of a video game. Early in the first quarter, wide receiver Parker Livingston scooped up the ball and returned it to Manning, who stretched his 6-foot-4 frame to haul in the pass for the score.

As Sarkisian turned to celebrate, he found programming legend Vince Young on the sideline, who slapped him on the arm and he joked that he wished he could have started it call back to his Texas days, Sark told ESPN.

It was more than a sweet anecdote. Young’s reaction underscored how fully the Manning era has been embraced by the program’s old guard. On a night when the sophomore running back hit DeAndre Moore Jr. and Livingston, added a short score and generally toyed with Arkansas’ secondary, the former national title hero was there supporting the new face of Texas football.

Sarkisian leaned into that mix of old-school physicality and modern creativity. Texas used pace, movement and plays to keep Arkansas off balance, but the Longhorns also relied on a run game and a defense that tightened up after halftime.

A 21-point margin in the second half made the final score more comfortable than the first half suggested.

after the game Sarkisian made it clear that only stylistic points mattered if Texas continues to put up wins. As he told reporters, the best way to impress anyone on the CFP committee is simple: Finish the regular season by taking care of business next Friday night.

The win over Arkansas was the first step, but how Texas closes against undefeated Texas A&M will ultimately shape its postseason ceiling.

Still, the image that will remain from the Arkansas game is Manning celebrating a touchdown while Vince Young shines on the sideline. For a fan base that measures everything against 2005, seeing a new star break a record with one of the program’s all-time icons cheering him on is exactly the kind of symbolism Texas has been craving.