"Quite frankly disgusting": Paul Finebaum takes sly dig at Steve Sarkisian for 'inappropriate' comments on Arch Manning injury

Texas quarterback Arch Manning helped the Longhorns to bounce back from their Week 1 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes with a 38-7 win over the San Jose State Spartans in Week 2 action. Manning went 19-of-30 for 295 yards, resulting in one touchdown and one interception while adding 23 rushing yards, resulting in one touchdown.

During the game against the Spartans, Manning appeared to wince in pain after a difficult throw. During his weekly news conference, coach Steve Sarkisian rubbished questions regarding the quarterback's health by comparing the wince to the faces made by reporters when they used the bathroom.

During Tuesday's segment of "First Take," outspoken ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum took a dig at Sarkisian's comments regarding Manning's health.

“I thought they were completely and totally inappropriate," Finebaum said (0:55). "And this is coming from someone who is a big fan of Steve Sarkisian. But what was the point of that? If Arch isn’t having any health problems, then simply say, ‘He’s fine, we checked him out and we’re happy.’

"Why go after the media in something that’s just sorted and really, quite frankly, disgusting? He made a much bigger deal out of something that could’ve been answered with a simple, ‘No, he’s fine. He got banged up the first week, he’s a little bit better and he had a good game.’ Instead, Steve Sarkisian turned a one-minute story into a four-day escapade.”

Analyst accuses coach of babying Arch Manning

Arch Manning entered the season as one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy alongside LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, but according to BetMGM, his odds plummeted from +650 to +1,800 after his performance against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

During Tuesday's segment of "First Take," Paul Finebaum accused Steve Sarkisian of babying the quarterback, which would hurt him in the Heisman race.

“What Manning doesn’t need is his coach babying him in the media,” Finebaum said. “That’s the worst thing that can happen when you already have the (last) name that a lot of people want to hate on, the privilege a lot of people want to scorn.

“Arch Manning has to go out there and do it himself, and he doesn’t need to be coddled by the one person whose job it is to make him look good and protect him on the field, not off the field, and that’s Steve Sarkisian.”

The Longhorns got back on track with their Week 2 win against the San Jose Spartans, and Arch Manning will get plenty of chances to reestablish himself in the Heisman race with games against the Sam Houston State Bearkats and the UTEP Miners in the coming weeks.