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NCAAF Being the starting quarterback at a big-time football school brings lots of attention. When you add a 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame, five-star recruiting status and the last name Manning, everything you do is put under the microscope — including the faces you make when you throw the football. Such is life for Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who is two games into his first full season as QB1. And in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ 38-7 win last week, a grimace Manning made while throwing an incomplete pass over the middle of the field to an open Ryan Wingo drew some attention and curiosity as to whether the quarterback was dealing with any pain. When asked after the game, Manning said, “Nah, no, I’ve got to make that throw. He was open, ran a good dig route, so I’ve got to make that throw. ” Advertisement When coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about it two days later, it led to an awkward exchange with a reporter in which Sarkisian asserted that Manning was pain-free and compared his face to those made while using the bathroom. It’s been an interesting week on the Forty Acres. So is the face Manning made Saturday simply a habit? Even he wasn’t 100 percent certain. “Yeah, probably so, ” Manning said. “I don’t even know. ” Well, we do. The Athletic reviewed the TV copy of each of Manning’s 155 career pass attempts at Texas to get to the bottom of Grimace Gate. Here’s what we found. Most TV replays don’t zoom in on the quarterback’s face while he’s throwing Of Manning’s 155 pass attempts, 73 didn’t even have a replay, either because they were short completions or incomplete passes. Another 51 had replays but did not show an angle where his face could be easily seen. Some of those angles were from a skycam behind the quarterback or from the sideline at Manning’s back. Some replays where his face was visible were zoomed out. Because the broadcast isn’t focusing on one player — there are 22 on the field! — many replays provide a wide angle at a distance to show the play develop. There were 15 replays where Manning’s face was visible, but the camera was zoomed too far out to get a clear look at his grill. So, what about the rest? Does he grimace? Yes. Our review discovered at least 13 instances over the last year in which Manning grimaced, dating all the way to his appearance in relief of Quinn Ewers against UTSA on Sept. 28, 2024. Early in the third quarter against the Roadrunners, Manning made a face that looked almost identical to the one he made last week against San Jose State. The result was a 15-yard completion on a slant to Matthew Golden. Midway through the second quarter in Manning’s first career start, against Louisiana-Monroe last season, the quarterback can be seen grimacing as he throws a short screen pass to Quintrevion Wisner behind the line of scrimmage. Last season, when Manning entered the Longhorns’ loss to Georgia, he grimaced on a deep incompletion intended for De Andre Moore. And in Manning’s road start at Ohio State, he unleashed his grimace on a third-and-5 incompletion on a pass intended for Wingo on a crossing route late in the fourth quarter. There were other instances where Manning was hit just as he threw the ball, which likely impacted his facial expression, and other instances where it looked like he grimaced, but it was too hard to tell. Advertisement And there are photos that 247Sports dug up from past Manning throws, even dating to his high school days, that show the grimace. So there you have it. Perhaps this is Arch’s version of “Manning Face, ” but there’s no supporting evidence to conclude that he’s dealing with an injury. (Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Sam Khan Jr. is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting primarily in Texas. Previously, he spent eight years covering college sports at ESPN. com and seven years as a sports reporter at the Houston Chronicle. A native Houstonian, Sam graduated from the University of Houston. Follow Sam on Twitter @skhanjr