Arch Manning scored the first receiving touchdown of his career against Arkansas on Saturday as he totaled six scores in the Longhorns’ 52-37 win.
Manning was wide open in the end zone on a trick play and caught a pass from wide receiver Parker Livingstone in the first half. After taking the snap and handing off on a jet sweep, Manning ran to his right where no Arkansas player covered him.
The catch was also Manning’s first-ever reception in college and put the Longhorns up 14-6 over the Razorbacks. On Texas’ next drive, Manning found Livingstone for a 54-yard TD and a 21-13 lead.
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He added a rushing touchdown early in the second half to give Texas a 31-20 advantage.
Manning’s trifecta of touchdown types marked the second straight weekend a player at the top level of college football had a passing TD, rushing TD and receiving TD. A week ago, Georgia Southern RB OJ Arnold did all three.
Manning had one of the best games of his career on Saturday as he finished 18-of-30 passing for 389 yards and 4 TDs through the air. Texas torched Arkansas’ defense for nearly 500 yards of offense and DeAndre Moore Jr. caught three touchdowns on each of his three receptions.
The victory moved No. 17 Texas to 8-3 ahead of their final game of the regular season against No. 3 Texas A&M. Even if the Longhorns beat the undefeated Aggies, they’re still likely to miss the College Football Playoff thanks to the number of one and two-loss teams ahead of them in the rankings.
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Saturday’s game was the second time Arkansas and Texas had met as members of the SEC after playing just six times in the 2000s before Texas joined the conference.
The longtime Southwest Conference rivals played regularly from 1932 through 1991 before Arkansas moved to the SEC and the 52 points Texas put up is the most the Longhorns have scored against the Razorbacks since scoring 54 in the team’s first meeting in 1894.