Arch Manning guided Texas to a 55-0 win over Sam Houston on Saturday night at Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin. The Longhorns quarterback appeared comfortable, precise and in sync for much of the game.However, Manning sparked controversy with an unusual five-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, when his squad already led. During the play, he evaded a tackle attempt by Sam Houston linebacker Antavious Fish and then stood over the fallen defender before staring him down.Kurt Benkert, a former Green Bay Packers teammate of Aaron Rodgers, was among many to criticize Manning’s celebration.“You can’t be serious,” Benkert tweeted.After the incident, players from both programs and game officials quickly intervened to separate Manning and Fish. Once apart, the Texas QB continued celebrating with his teammates, though a referee soon approached to issue a warning.On3’s Ari Wasserman summed up the reaction to Manning’s uncharacteristic display.“I’m so torn on Arch Manning flexing on that dude from Sam Houston State,” Wasserman said. “Manning has been through a lot these past few weeks and you can imagine he has a lot of bottled emotion to let out.“Also, he is trying to find his swagger. He flexed on a future Progressive Insurance claims adjustor and it’s like, what.”Even Manning’s mother, Ellen Heidingsfelder, was not pleased with his actions.“It felt good to be back in the end zone,” Manning said in the post-game interview (via CFB insider CJ Vogel). “It was probably a little much, my mom was mad at me.”Arch Manning earns high praise from Steve SarkisianOn Saturday, Arch Manning threw for a career-best 86% completion rate, totaling 309 yards and three touchdowns and added two rushing touchdowns in Texas’ win over Sam Houston. His three passing touchdowns matched his career high from the 2024 season against UTSA.Manning also became one of only four Texas quarterbacks since 2000 to record multiple passing and rushing touchdowns in a single game, joining Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Sam Ehlinger.Manning spread the ball to eight different receivers before leaving the game early in the third quarter, and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had nothing but praise for his QB1.“He got going,” Sarkisian said (via The Athletic). “You could feel the bounce in his step on the field. I was really happy for Arch. What he has to do is not easy. That’s the life of a quarterback at Texas, especially when your last name is Manning.“But I don’t think anybody can handle it better than he’s handled this. He didn’t ask for any of this stuff. He just wants to be a really good teammate and a really good quarterback. But never has he complained about this situation. He just works.”With Saturday's win, Texas has improved to 3-1. Manning's squad will now turn their attention to next week's bye and its Southeastern Conference opener at Florida on Oct. 4.