Arch Manning issues bold Texas response to Arizona State's Peach Bowl swagger

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will offer fans a matchup that few saw coming when the 2024 NCAA football season began. The fifth-seeded Texas Longhorns, on the hunt for their first championship since 2005, will take on the fourth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils, who won the Big 12 Conference despite being picked last in a preseason media poll.

Texas, the runner-up in the Southeastern Conference, is favored by 13.5 points over Arizona State, which is taking part in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The Longhorns have one of the nation's best defenses and two quarterbacks capable of starting: redshirt junior Quinn Ewers and redshirt freshman Arch Manning. While many fans have wanted Manning to start for weeks, if not months, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has made it clear that Ewers is his guy.

Manning responds to Sam Leavitt's declaration

Arizona State's freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt ruffled some feathers over the weekend by declaring that he would be the best quarterback taking the field in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday. Manning on Monday responded in an unexpected way: by saying he understood where Leavitt was coming from.

"I feel like as a quarterback you always want to think you're the best," Manning said. "So I kind of understand where he is coming from. But Quinn is a dang good quarterback, so I'm just excited for the game and excited to hopefully get a win."

Though Ewers has been criticized for his inconsistency, he has completed 67 percent of his es this season and thrown 26 touchdowns to 10 interceptions this year. Texas has lost just two games -- both to the Georgia Bulldogs -- and Sarkisian recently pointed out that his team is the only one to have made the Playoff in each of the last two seasons. But his showdown with Leavitt (24 touchdowns, five interceptions) will either further validate his head coach or prompt significant backlash if Texas were to lose on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, Leavitt has doubled down on his controversial remarks -- which gained so much traction that he told reporters on Monday he had silenced notifications on his phone. With ASU regarded as heavy underdogs, it behooves Leavitt to enter the Peach Bowl in a positive and winning mindset if the Sun Devils are to stand a chance of defeating the Longhorns.