Arch Manning has secured some big praise from Oklahoma coach Brent Venables ahead of the Red River Rivalry week. The Longhorns will face the Sooners in Dallas on Saturday.“Very talented, tough kid,” Venables said on Tuesday. “Loved how he battled and was able to bring his team back last week on the road in Gainesville. Very difficult place to play. I watched him play with as a young player that hadn’t been in that position really much, if at all.“Tremendous arm talent, great athlete, really has a strong pocket presence. When he does scramble, he can run through a lot of trash. He’s got great speed and quickness as well. Real weapon as a dual-threat guy.”The Week 7 game comes at a key moment for Manning, who is looking to rebound after Texas’ 29–21 loss to Florida. In that game, he completed 16 of 29 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 37 rushing yards but throwing two interceptions.Even Manning's outspoken supporter and ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, who criticized the Texas QB1’s early-season struggle, believes he will shine in Week 7.“Arch Manning is a better quarterback today than he was a couple of weeks ago,” Finebaum said on “SportsCenter” podcast on Tuesday.“I think he will be the best quarterback in this game, which might be the first time in a while. So, I think the opportunity for Texas is grand against a slightly depleted Oklahoma team.”David Pollack defends Arch Manning amid growing criticism Texas centered the season being No. 1 school in the nation with Arch Manning regarded as the Heisman favorite. But after Week 6, the Longhorns have fallen out of the AP Top 25 with a 3–2 record, and Manning has slipped out of Heisman contention.While Manning is facing severe criticism for failing to live up to the hype, former ESPN personality David Pollack defended him on the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast on Monday.“What we’re gonna see from the national media, it is what it is, but it’ll be a pile fest on Arch,” Pollack said (via On3). “It’ll be a big dog-pile and everybody’s gonna crap over Arch because he hasn’t been playing great. And he hasn’t.“He hasn’t played great, but let’s not let the most important part off the hook. The most important part is I think Steve Sark(isian), I think that’s a big deal. That’s a big person that deserves some of the blame.”Pollack also criticized Sarkisian’s track record, mentioning his 2–8 record against top-10 opponents during his time leading Texas.