Arch Manning Will Have to Get Wins to Get Close to Biggest Manning Legend

Grandfather Archie was biggest collegiate legend of Mannings as Razorback fans know way too well

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jun 25, 2022 6:07 PM EDT
Original:
Jun 25, 2022

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arch Manning is probably going to be a Texas Longhorn.

He's got to do something huge, though, to become the biggest college legend among the Mannings. Notice I said college.

Grandpa Archie has that title locked down for now. Too many people write about his rather ho-hum professional career that was due more to some bad coaching on horrendous teams.

There's only a handful of folks in college history with the legend equal to what Archie Manning built at Ole Miss.

Archie Manning-1970 — Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning during a game in 1970.
(Malcolm Emmons / USA TODAY Sports)

The speed limit on that campus to this day is 18 miles an hour, which was Archie's number.

Normally, Arkansas fans wouldn't care where Arch decided to go He's the hands-down No. 1 pick in the 2023 class and he's not coming to Fayetteville., The guess here is the Hogs are going to have to face him every year he's with the Longhorns.

They will be in the SEC before the announced 2025 date along with Oklahoma. That's not particularly great news if history is any sort of gauge.

The Razorbacks are 2-7 against the Mannings with both of the wins coming against Eli at Ole Miss when Matt Jones was running wild for the Hogs. They didn't get close against Peyton at Tennessee in four tries.

The biggest loss, though, may have been when they couldn't get a handle on Archie in the Sugar Bowl in a game the Hogs didn't have much interest in playing after losing to Texas in the Big Shootout less than a month before.

Ole Miss got an early lead behind Archie scoring on the ground and passing, then held on in the second half as the Hogs just couldn't get enough big plays in a 27-22 loss.

That game didn't make Archie a college legend. That had happened considerably before and blew up after he and Scott Hunter of Alabama locked up in the first national television prime time regular-season game.

Hunter threw for 300 yards (it was two more years before Bear Bryant switched the Crimson Tide to the Wishbone). Manning became a national legend in a 33-32 loss, though.

Archie was 33-of-52 for 436 yards and ran for 104 more.

They were writing songs about his legend before he was a senior. Opponents' fans had buttons that said "Archie Who?" on them. Somebody from Arkansas came up with "Who Gives a Damn?" before the Sugar Bowl that year.

They found out.

Oklahoma running back Steve Owens won the Heisman Trophy that year. Manning was fourth in the voting as a junior and was probably the odds-on favorite for the award headed into 1970.

The Rebels were 6-1 when he broke his arm against Houston. He came back after two games and just wasn't effective against LSU and was still bothered by it in a Peach Bowl loss to Auburn (they didn't meeting in the regular season ... bowls kinda liked matching up a couple of SEC teams in bowl games).

But he came back and played in three weeks after nearly breaking his arm in two. The cast was massive and he was making plays with one functioning arm.