Arch Manning Shrugs Off the Louisiana Homecoming Talk Before Texas at LSU: 'It's Not About Me'

AUSTIN — Arch Manning is heading back to his home state on Saturday, and the Texas quarterback spent part of this week politely declining the storyline that comes with it. Manning, who is from New Orleans, told reporters the trip to face LSU carries no homecoming significance for him, Athlon Sports reported. “We're trying to go 1-0 this week,” Manning said. “I really don't have any legacy [at LSU]. I have no family who went to LSU. I'm from New Orleans, which is an hour from Baton Rouge. So, there's no real — there's no connection. It's not about me.”

Head coach Steve Sarkisian also downplayed the personal angle, and the football case for ignoring it is plain enough. Texas enters the weekend 7-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play, tied for fourth in the league, and the Longhorns were No. 7 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. They are coming off a 34-20 road victory over Missouri in which Manning completed 28 of 38 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns — the performance that put him in the Davey O'Brien Foundation's Quarterback Class of 2026, as this station reported Tuesday.

LSU sits at 6-3 and 3-3 in the SEC after Saturday's 31-13 loss to Alabama, and the early market expects a fight in Baton Rouge: On3 reported Tuesday morning that LSU was a 3.5-point favorite on Polymarket with an over/under of 46.5 points. For Texas, the closing stretch leaves little room — after LSU, the Longhorns return home to host Arkansas before the regular-season finale, and a third loss would badly complicate their playoff case.

Kickoff at Tiger Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Central on Saturday, on ABC. Manning's own framing of the week is the simplest one available: go 1-0, and let the homecoming talk go.