Steve Sarkisian and the rest of his top-ranked Texas Longhorns have full confidence in redshirt freshman Arch Manning making his first career start Saturday. The Louisiana-Monroe defensive coordinator isn’t worried, either.

“We have some kids on our team who played against him in New Orleans (in high school), and a couple guys done beat him already,” ULM’s Earnest Hill said this week. “So, they don’t hold too much fear against him.

“So, they’re not going to hold any fear against him coming up here (Saturday).”

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To be fair, Hill was complimentary overall about Texas. Still, not only is that statement wild in itself, it doesn't appear to be true. There are no players on ULM's roster who align with the high school teams Manning lost to while at Isidore Newman.

The 45-point underdog calling out Manning in public… well, that’s certainly one strategy. It may not be the most viable course of action, though, for a team with 73 new players for a program that 2-10 last season. It’s not Warhawks quarterback General Booty needs any more pressure on his shoulders.

The Longhorns (3-0) have every reason to give it their best at 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+). Manning and Co. need to keep it rolling going into next week’s SEC opener against Mississippi State.

Sarkisian pulled the curtain back on his personal beliefs on Thursday when discussing quarterback Quinn Ewers abdominal strain. "I think we have a national championship caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that,” Sarkisian said.

For Sarkisian to admit Texas is a “national championship caliber team” is a bold statement. But it’s a clear-eyed vision of where he thinks this season is headed. Manning has to keep that going.

Asked what he wanted to see against ULM, Sarkisian said, “I'm always striving to play as clean of football as we can. I also think that there’s a style of football that I want to make sure that we play week in and week out.

“I want to make sure that we’re really fast Saturday night,” the coach added. “I want to make sure that we're really physical Saturday night. I want to make sure that we play really smart football and that we own the situations as they present themselves, whether it’s third down or fourth down or short yardage or red area or backed-up situations.”

As always, Sarkisian wants to win the turnover battle and generally play clean overall.

But most important, Sarkisian wants Manning to have a strong night for the quarterback’s sake. It’s one thing to come off the bench against UTSA. It’s quite another to know you’re the starter.

“I think when you have a routine, it’s a little easier to get into that frame of mind week in and week out,” Sarkisian said. “And I think his routine has been very good as the backup as he transitions into starting this week.”