Booed by own fans, Arch says he must improve

Arch Manning scuffled through another shaky performance in Texas' 27-10 victory over UTEP.

This time, Longhorns fans let Manning hear their frustration.

Manning and the vaunted Texas offense were booed loudly by the crowd at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium at one point Saturday during the first half. Despite the Longhorns' victory, Manning admitted that his play must improve.

"I've got to play better," Manning said. "A lot of quarterbacks -- a lot of players -- want to be great. I know I'm better than this."

The preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, Manning struggled in Texas' season-opening road loss at Ohio State that started a wave of national criticism and questions of whether he was overrated and was anointed too soon.

Saturday's poor outing will only bring more.

Manning was 11-of-25 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Miners in a game where Texas (2-1) was heavily favored. He had a string of misfires with 10 consecutive incompletions in the second quarter, tossed an end zone interception and never looked comfortable as he side-armed some throws and missed open receivers on others.

The Longhorns led 7-3 with 1:36 remaining in the second quarter when Manning's errant third-down throw was nearly picked off, prompting boos by the home crowd as the offense left the field.

"I felt like he pressed some. He knew he missed some throws," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "I feel like we've done enough with him to have a pretty good understanding of who he is as a player and what he's capable of. I know there's a lot of football in him that's high-level football."

Manning said he agonized over some of the incompletions on throws he said he normally makes.

"All my life I've been an accurate passer," he said. "I've just got to get back to it."

Texas safety Michael Taaffe said the team heard the boos in the first half but said the Longhorns need to give the fans a reason to cheer.

"The fans are the ones who make it go," Taaffe said.

Texas wasn't in danger of losing Saturday's game, but Manning's recurring struggles are enough to concern fans about the upcoming SEC schedule and whether the Longhorns really are title contenders.

Through the first three games, Manning has completed just 55.3% of his passes.

Greatness was expected from Manning's first days on campus, and certainly from the first minute on the field this season. After all, he is the latest big, strong-armed quarterback from America's most famous football family.

He was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school. Manning waited the past two seasons behind Quinn Ewers but flashed enough moments of brilliance in two starts when Ewers was hurt to further intensify already intense expectations.

Off the field, he has raked in millions in endorsements. Some of his product television ads have aired during Texas games this season.

Certainly more was expected of a quarterback in his third season in Sarkisian's offense. And yet Manning often looks rushed or confused or just simply misses open receivers.

Sarkisian believes he can bring Manning to the level of play that was expected. Sarkisian at various times has pleaded for patience from fans and pundits.

"Our job as coaches is to work him towards that," Sarkisian said. "We've righted the ship before. We'll get there."

Manning's teammates say they are still confident in him as their leader.

"He's still a great quarterback," offensive lineman Trevor Goosby said. "I tell him that every day."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.