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Officials Facing Backlash Over Controversial Arch Manning Play

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andrew McCarty | Last updated Jan 10, 2025 9:27 PM ET

On numerous occasions this season Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has been called on to replace starting quarterback Quinn Ewers with former five-star recruit Arch Manning.

That was the case once again on Friday night, even with Ewers playing solid football. Despite Ewer completing 10-of-19 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown, there were calls for Manning to see the field.

Well, he finally did late in the first half and it didn't go exactly as planned. Sarkisian opted to swap out his starting quarterback for the fan favorite Manning on a fourth-and-short around midfield.

The former five-star quarterback picked up the first down, but took a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit and appeared to fumble the ball right as his left arm touched the turf. Following a quick review, officials declared that Manning was down before losing the ball.

Arch Manning got rocked lmao this is a fumble but they called it down on the field pic.twitter.com/Bk6yIQMaQH
— John (@iam_johnw) January 11, 2025

While everyone was focused on the fumble, a few fans noticed the play could have been flagged for targeting.

"Arch is seeing stars right now. Everyone was talking about the fumble, but no potential targeting??" one person said.

"So why was that not targeting on the Arch “fumble”? asked another.

"How is that not targeting on Arch Manning ? Defender used the crown of his helmet to the back of Arch’s helmet …. Rules are rules, right?" questioned another.

"I’m sorry is that not targeting? Lol dude just speared Arch Manning in the back of the head and the broadcast isn’t even talking about it," said another.

"Defender lowers helmet and nails Arch Manning in the back of the head. No targeting. The review the play but only look for a fumble and ignore the obvious targeting. Crazy," said another.

With one half of play in the books, Ohio State holds a 14-7 lead.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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