The Aporia · Arch Manning leads No. 5 Texas as Longhorns aim to return to College Football Playoff

Arch Manning leads No. 5 Texas as Longhorns aim to return to College Football Playoff

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Vertuno, J. (2026, August 20). Arch Manning leads No. 5 Texas as Longhorns aim to return to College Football Playoff. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/arch-manning-leads-no-5-texas-as-longhorns-aim-to-return-to-college-football-playoff/article_2d1f8334-5e4c-592d-a4bf-b673926d08ba.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Arch Manning, the star quarterback of the No. 5-ranked Texas Longhorns, aims to lead his team back into the College Football Playoff after last season's disappointing finish. The offense has been bolstered with transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman and an experienced offensive line, while transfers Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers join the running backs. Texas faces a challenging schedule, including top-ranked Ohio State in Week 2 and SEC opponents Tennessee and LSU later in the season. With strengths on both sides of the ball, the team's secondary weakness will be a key area to watch under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The University of Texas football team, ranked 5th in the nation, is looking to bounce back from a disappointing season where they missed the College Football Playoff after initially being considered for a national title. To improve their chances, coach Steve Sarkisian has made significant changes to the offense around quarterback Arch Manning, who threw for 26 touchdowns last season. The team has added transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman, considered one of the most coveted players in the portal, to pair with Ryan Wingo, who led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns last season. Texas's schedule includes several tough matchups, including a home game against Ohio State on September 12 and an away game at Tennessee on September 26. If they can secure big wins early, Manning could reignite his Heisman Trophy campaign, which stalled towards the end of last season.

Written for “Texas College Football” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Top-ranked Ohio State is loaded on offense and has plenty of questions on defense different event · 90%

Toronto Star

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 15 📰 publisher trust 63

“The articles mention different teams (Ohio State vs. Texas) and are predicting their performance in the upcoming season, without referencing a shared incident”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes looking for more from Horned Frogs after back-to-back 9-win seasons different event · 80%

Toronto Star

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 17 📰 publisher trust 63

“Article A discusses Texas Longhorns' expectations and changes under coach Steve Sarkisian with Arch Manning, while Article B focuses on TCU's goals and challenges under coach Sonny Dykes with a new quarterback”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

15%

3 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

63/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-08-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7681 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Jim Vertuno

10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Against Tennessee, his fair catch signal negated would have been a nifty misdirection play on a punt return.

2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Texas special teams are giving up big plays and creating big problems for the 7th-ranked Longhorns

🔮 The owners of Camp Mystic have proposed selling off the riverfront property as part of a bankruptcy plan, with hopes that a buyer will preserve the camp’s “historic mission” following the death of 27 campers and counselors swept away by a 2025 flood.

2026-09-28 · assertive framing · A bankrupt Camp Mystic seeks to sell the property as legal troubles grow

🔮 In his weekly radio show on Thursday, Cignetti recalled that when Trump left the game “around the 7-minute mark ... there were two or three plays we couldn't hear at all.”

2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Air Force One flyover: Trump attends major college football game after coach warned president’s visit could disrupt team communications

🔮 When President Donald Trump attends Saturday’s Texas vs. Tennessee college football game, it could mean more than tougher traffic and extra long security lines for fans.

2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Trump is attending a big college football game, and coaches are worried about disruptions

🔮 Lucio’s attorneys said Thursday they will now appeal her case to federal courts.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Texas appeals court rejects ruling of innocence for woman on death row for 18 years

🔮 The Roadrunners will be happy with a defense that disrupted Manning’s night.

2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Manning throws 2 early TD passes to Coleman to help No. 1 Texas beat UTSA 30-6

🔮 I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward,” Manning said.

2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Texas QB Arch Manning apologizes to ESPN reporter Holly Rowe for laughing about fake video of slap

🔮 The No. 5 Longhorns will want more of that next Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State.

2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Texas transfers delivered the big plays for the Longhorns in their burnt orange debut

🔮 Texas will host No. 1 Ohio State next week.

2026-09-05 · assertive framing · Arch Manning throws four TD passes and No. 5 Texas eases past Texas State in season opener 59-7

🔮 Manning overcame last season’s slow start with a strong finish and could reignite a Heisman Trophy campaign if Texas can notch big wins early.

2026-08-20 · assertive framing · Arch Manning leads No. 5 Texas as Longhorns aim to return to College Football Playoff

Also by Jim Vertuno

Texas special teams are giving up big plays and creating big problems for the 7th-ranked Longhorns

2026-10-12 · Toronto Star

A bankrupt Camp Mystic seeks to sell the property as legal troubles grow

2026-09-28 · Toronto Star

Air Force One flyover: Trump attends major college football game after coach warned president’s visit could disrupt team communications

2026-09-26 · The Independent

Trump is attending a big college football game, and coaches are worried about disruptions

2026-09-26 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 10 articles by Jim Vertuno →

Topics

AUSTIN CFP NFL Ohio State Texas

Subjects

Texas GPE · 14× NFL ORG · 4× Manning PERSON · 3× AUSTIN GPE · 2× CFP ORG · 2× Cam Coleman PERSON · 2× Longhorns ORG · 2× Ohio State ORG · 2× SEC ORG · 2× Tennessee ORG · 2×

Narrative

New faces WR Cam Coleman (transfer from Auburn), LB Rasheem Biles (transfer from Pitt), RB Hollywood Smothers (transfer from North Carolina State), RB Raleek Brown (transfer from Arizona State). Key losses WR Parker Livingstone (transferred to Oklahoma), LB Anthony Hill (NFL draft), DB Malik Muhammed (NFL draft), DB Michael Taaffe (NFL draft), RB Quintrevion Wisner (transferred to Florida State). Biggest games for the Longhorns Ohio State (Sept. 12), at Tennessee (Sept. 26), vs. Oklahoma (Oct. 10), at LSU (Nov. 14), at Texas A&M (Nov. 27). ___

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-20

🔮 Manning overcame last season’s slow start with a strong finish and could reignite a Heisman Trophy campaign if Texas can notch big wins early.

2026-08-20 · Toronto Star

Arch Manning leads No. 5 Texas as Longhorns aim to return to College Football Playoff · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 3 hedged)

No. 5 Texas AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 2025 record: 10-3 Expectations Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns fell flat least season. asserted

Manning → fall → ?

national title talk ended with two early losses and Texas missed the College Football Playoff. asserted

Texas → end → Playoff

To get back to the CFP, coach Steve Sarkisian has loaded up the offense around his star quarterback. asserted

Sarkisian → get → quarterback

Transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman was arguably the catch of the offseason and the offensive line is more experienced and should be improved. asserted

line → improve → offseason

Manning overcame last season’s slow start with a strong finish and could reignite a Heisman Trophy campaign if Texas can notch big wins early. uncertain

Texas → overcome → wins

Beware more early losses that could derail Texas again. uncertain

that → beware → Texas

Top-ranked Ohio State comes to Austin in Week 2, and the Longhorns open SEC play at Tennessee on Sept. 26. asserted

Longhorns → rank → Sept.

Strengths include wide receiver and pass rush Manning passed for 26 touchdowns last season and has a wealth of targets in 2026. asserted

Manning → include → 2026

None is bigger than Coleman, who was one of the most coveted players in the portal and gives Texas a new elite deep threat to pair with Ryan Wingo. asserted

who → give → Wingo

Wingo led Texas last season with 834 yards, and seven touchdowns and the kind of burst that threatens TD every time he touches the ball. asserted

he → lead → ball

Texas hopes those two can replicate what Xavier Worthy and A.D. Mitchell did in 2023 when Texas made it to the CFP semifinals. asserted

Texas → hop → semifinals

Texas also upgraded at running back with transfers Raleek Brown from Arizona State and Hollywood Smothers from North Carolina State. asserted

Texas → upgrade → State

He has 21 career sacks and may be the best defensive player in the SEC. uncertain

He → have → SEC

An interior defensive line anchored by Hero Kanu can be disruptive. asserted

line → anchor → Kanu

Transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles from Pitt had 100 total tackles and 4.5 sacks last year. asserted

Biles → have → tackles

Weaknesses include secondary inexperience The Texas secondary needs a rebuild after losing cover corner Malik Muhammad and All-American safety Michael Taaffe to the NFL draft. asserted

secondary → include → draft

Texas also would like to develop a pass rush threat on the opposite side of Simmons. asserted

Texas → like → Simmons

Scheming this up is new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who came back to Texas from Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia. asserted

who → scheme → Georgia

Muschamp was the Texas defensive coordinator from 2008-2010, a stint that included playing in the 2009 national title game. asserted

that → include → game

faces → transfer → A&M