Arch Manning Wins SEC Honor After Leading Texas Past Missouri

Arch Manning is heating up at exactly the right time, and the Southeastern Conference is taking notice.

The Texas Longhorns quarterback earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday after throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 34-20 road victory over Missouri.

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Manning was also selected as a Manning Award Star of the Week, adding another achievement to an increasingly impressive senior season.

It's Manning's second SEC Offensive Player of the Week award this season and fourth career weekly conference honor.

More importantly for Texas, his recent performances suggest the Longhorns are finding their offensive rhythm as the College Football Playoff race intensifies.

Manning completed 28 of 38 passes against Missouri, connecting on 73.7 percent of his attempts without throwing an interception.

All three touchdown passes covered at least 20 yards.

His first scoring throw was a 24-yard connection with freshman running back Derrek Cooper that tied the game in the opening quarter.

With Texas trailing 20-13 in the third, Manning found freshman receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown, pulling the Longhorns even again.

But Manning saved his biggest contribution for the final minutes.

Facing a seven-point deficit? Not this time. With the score tied 20-20, Manning connected with Raleek Brown for a 23-yard touchdown with 5:03 remaining, giving Texas a lead it wouldn't surrender.

Brown later added an eight-yard rushing touchdown to complete the victory.

Manning finished the afternoon by completing eight of his final 10 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

That's the kind of late-game execution Texas will need against the SEC's best teams.

Over the Longhorns' current three-game winning streak, Manning has completed 62 of 88 passes for 729 yards and seven touchdowns. He's also added two rushing scores, accounting for nine touchdowns during that stretch.

His season totals now stand at 2,024 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes on 168 completions in 254 attempts.

Manning's 18 passing touchdowns rank second in the SEC, while his 10 completions of at least 40 yards lead conference quarterbacks.

The individual recognition comes just days after Manning was named a top-10 finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Texas has won three straight games since consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Florida threatened its postseason ambitions.

Now 7-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play, the Longhorns have regained momentum heading into another difficult road assignment.

Saturday's matchup against LSU in Baton Rouge presents Manning with another opportunity to demonstrate that his recent improvement isn't temporary.

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With Texas chasing a College Football Playoff berth, the quarterback's growing confidence and efficiency could determine how far the Longhorns advance.

Manning's latest SEC award recognizes what he's already accomplished. The bigger question is what comes next.