The No. 13 Texas Longhorns took some time to get going in the Citrus Bowl, but a fourth-quarter explosion turned a tight game into a statement win over the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines, 41-27. Not only did Texas hit the 10-win mark for the third consecutive season, but it generates a ton of momentum for what appears to be the season Steve Sarkisian has been building towards since taking over in 2021. Quarterback Arch Manning has been a household name for years, for both supporters and haters, but the Citrus Bowl can definitely be called a statement game for a quarterback who went from Heisman favorite to “College Football’s First Flop” before ending the season as the bowl game MVP.
Arch Manning: 21-34, 221 yards, 2 TDs, 9 carries, 155 yards, 2 TDs
Manning put on a show in Orlando, proving to the world why he was the top-ranked prep quarterback and flashing the skills that made him a preseason Heisman favorite. When he sealed the game with a 60-yard touchdown run, he seemingly started the 2026 hype machine for a season that will put him among some of the biggest names in Texas football history.
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His 221 passing yards against the Wolverines put him over the 3,000 yard mark on the year, becoming just the seventh player in Texas history to surpass that number. That total jumps him into the top-10 years in school history, behind quarterbacks you can refer to by a single name: Vince, Colt, Sam, Quinn, and Major. He’s already cracked the top-10 careers for touchdown passes with 35 and if he simply repeats his performance next year, he will find himself No. 4 in school history behind McCoy, Ewers, and Ehlinger.
Adding to that total are his 155 rushing yards, marking just the ninth time in school history a quarterback has gone for more than 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards, again sitting alongside Vince, Sam, Colt, and the legendary Donnie Little – the first Black quarterback in school history who held five quarterback records when he graduated in 1981.
Christian Clark: 20 carries, 105 yards (5.3), TD
One of the biggest surprises of the game was the performance of running back Christian Clark, who took advantage of the absence of Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter to turn in one of the best rushing games of the season.
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The ground game has been nothing short of frustrating for Texas in 2025, so seeing Clark take his first handoff, find a crease and rush for 22 yards was a positive sign for fans and coaches. It was the fourth-longest rush by a Texas running back this year, after Wisner’s two chunk runs against Texas A&M (48, 30) and one against Oklahoma (37). The Citrus Bowl was just the second time this year a Texas running back has eclipsed five yards per carry, behind Wisner’s 8.2 yards per carry against the Aggies. Nine of Clark’s 20 carries went for a first down or a touchdown, including five of six in the third quarter, when Texas started to take over the game on offense.
He and Manning proved to be a potent combination on the ground, giving Texas a pair of 100-yard rushers for the first time this year, and the first QB/RB combo to meet that mark for Texas since Jerrod Heard and D’Onta Foreman combined to upset the Oklahoma Sooners in 2015.
Colin Simmons: 2 TFL, Sack
The elite pass rusher continued to make his presence known on the field and creat problems for defenses, capping off one of the great seasons by a Texas pass rusher with with a pair of tackles for loss, despite drawing double teams and massive attention from the Michigan front.
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Simmons already reached the double-digits mark against Arkansas, but when he brought down Bryce Underwood in the first quarter, he too began his efforts to rewrite Texas history. His 12 sacks tied him for the eight-best season in history with Texas greats Kiki DeAyala, Tony Degrate, and the late Steve McMichael. Not only did he put his name among some greats, he officially took the lead for the conference, passing Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, who finished his season with 11.5 after being held without a sack in the Aggies’ final three games — including the regular season finale in Austin and their first-round CFP loss.
The Longhorns head into the offseason with clear direction, improve in a few key spots in the transfer portal, while building on the momentum created by this win. Texas will likely enter the season with a ton of hype, including a low number in the preseason polls and Heisman hype for Manning, so capitalizing on this momentum will be paramount for Texas to meet its goals in 2026 and position themselves for longevity among the nation’s elites.
