After big win, Texas QB Arch Manning shrugs off critics with a smile and notes freedom of speech

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — All smiles after the biggest victory of his career, Texas quarterback Arch Manning said Monday he wasn't bothered by the harsh criticism leveled at him the first half of the season.

Everyone, he said, is entitled to their opinion of him.

“Look, I wasn’t playing well and I’m going to continue to get better. But you know, everyone has their own opinion. That’s what’s good about America, everyone gets freedom of speech. It doesn’t bother me," Manning said Monday.

Manning struggled through his first five games as a starter while No. 21 Texas (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) fell all the way from preseason No. 1 to unranked for a week.

But a crisp and efficient effort in a 23-6 win over rival Oklahoma in the pressure cooker of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas was the kind of performance by a player and team that could turn a season around.

Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and threw the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns. He both managed the game and delivered the big plays in a confidence builder of a game.

But those moments have been the exception rather than the rule for the player who was was preseason favorite for the Heisman Trophy.

Those kind of expectations opened him to intense criticism amid a rough start for the player and the team. The critics reached a fever pitch last week after a road loss at Florida left the Longhorns unranked.

And they'll be back if he has another poor game.

“I feel like I try to do my best to block out the noise, and then you get 100 text messages, ‘Keep blocking out the noise,’” Manning said. “There must be a lot of noise. So yeah, I try my best.”

Texas plays at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) on Saturday night.

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