With 45 seconds left in the first quarter Saturday’s against Sam Houston, Texas football quarterback Arch Manning rolled toward the end zone and a 14-0 lead.
Manning was greeted at the goal line by Bearkats defender Antavious Fish, who lunged and made a fruitless attempt at a tackle. Manning bounced off the tackle and then stood over and stared down the linebacker in the end zone.
Manning’s end zone reaction drew applause from the Texas fans at Royal-Memorial Stadium, and the team’s social media account posted that “We told y’all @archmanning got swagger.” But at least one person wasn’t happy.
“Probably a little much there,” Manning said. “My mom was pretty mad about that. A little immature, but I think it’s some built-up frustration from the past few weeks.”
Manning’s touchdown run came one week after he struggled and was booed at DKR during a 27-10 win over UTEP. Against Sam Houston, he threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns while completing 18 of his 21 passes. He also rushed for two touchdowns in the 55-0 win.
Manning wasn’t penalized for taunting on that play although he did say he received an earful from one of the officials. Afterward, Texas safety Michael Taaffe said that “we play smart football around here, so we don’t want to get any taunting penalties. But if a guy like that does it, then I’m not going to say nothing.”
One person who might have related to Manning in that moment is Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. Following a 28-yard touchdown pass that secured a 19-15 win for BYU in the 1997 Cotton Bowl, Sarkisian was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct after he threw an imaginary lasso toward the Kansas State sideline. Nearly 29 years later, Sarkisian said about his third-year quarterback that “there’s a lot more personality in there than sometimes everyone gets to see.”
“I always feel like he’s a little bit at his best when that emotion kind of comes out some,” Sarkisian added. “I think there was a lot built up in there from last week that he needed to get out. But inevitably, I think the guys feed off of that, and it’s one of his strengths.”