The nation’s most famous backup quarterback didn’t get onto the field Saturday at Michigan. If Arch Manning doesn’t play each of the next two weeks, something will have gone drastically wrong for No. 2 Texas.
The Longhorns (2-0) will be considerable odds-on favorites the next two weeks against inferior opponents. Texas opened as a 32.5-point favorite for this week’s game against UTSA. Coach Steve Sarkisian’s bunch will be similar favorites the following week against Louisiana-Monroe.
UTSA (1-1) is coming to Royal-Memorial Stadium having just lost 49-10 at Texas State.
This isn’t a knock on UTSA coach Jeff Traylor’s bunch. Traylor was once pegged as the next super-hot coaching commodity in the state of Texas. He’s still got the juice.
But Texas is simply a notch above all others in the state at the moment. This isn’t Charlie Strong or Tom Herman’s Longhorns that Traylor will be up against this week.
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In 2022, Traylor brought the Roadrunners into Austin and played really well for about three quarters. Texas eventually pulled away for a 41-20 victory. This was one week after Texas had an electric atmosphere at home against No. 1 Alabama and lost 20-19.
“I didn't think the energy was the same as a week ago from our team, the stadium. It wasn’t,” Sarkisian said afterward. “It wasn’t. Let’s just call it like it is. It wasn’t quite the same.”
It got Texas players’ attention with UTSA unveiled a social media hype video early in the week that was filmed on the Texas campus. Traylor’s players wore their full uniforms around the Texas campus, a clear jab at big brother in the UT System.
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“We understood they wanted to try to get in our heads and get our minds,” running back Bijan Robinson said in 2022. “Obviously, they didn’t really respect us coming into the game. But at the end of the day, it’s an opponent. And we've got to respect our opponents.”
Current Texas starter Quinn Ewers came into the season as a Heisman contender, and it appears he’s only solidified that status. He’s completed about 70% of his throws for 506 yards and six touchdowns. Deputy Ewers, as he’s known in the new Dr Pepper commercials, doesn’t need to call for backup.
But as Sherriff Bosworth points out in the commercials, we’re talking about two different things here.
Sarkisian came into the season saying he wanted to get Manning playing time in “significant” situations. Running out the clock in a 31-12 win over Michigan doesn’t qualify, even though taking snaps in the Big House would’ve been cool.
Sarkisian needs Manning to get competitive playing time when the game matters. Theoretically, that’s coming late in games against inferior opponents. No offense UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe.
Manning threw his first touchdown pass and ran for his first score in the season opener against Colorado State. But cameras caught Sarkisian chewing out Manning for a bad throw on a fourth-down incompletion that resulted in a turnover on downs.
“I coached Arch harder than anything on his last incomplete pass on the fourth down, because it was a mis-read,” Sarkisian said. “Just because he had some success, and he was 5-for-5 before that, when mistakes occur, we have to coach him, and we have to be demanding. But when they have opportunities to go make those types of plays, I let them kind of do that stuff.”
Oddsmakers believe Texas can put it in cruise control the next two weeks. If Ewers comes out and does his Heisman-worthy thing, as most in the UT football building expect him to do, then it should be Manning’s time to shine.
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