Cowbell Corner

Will Arch Manning Start Against Mississippi State? Texas QB Situation Remains Unclear

Bulldogs to face Longhorns, with a focus on the potential for Arch Manning to start as Quinn Ewers remains questionable for the game

Taylor Hodges

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up ahead of the Texas Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up ahead of the Texas Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. / Sara Diggins-Imagn Images
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Mississippi State football fans should prepare to see their Bulldogs faceoff against Arch Manning on Saturday in Austin, Texas.

No. 1 Texas didn’t change quarterback Quinn Ewers’ status for the Longhorns’ SEC debut in Thursday’s updated Student-Athlete Availability Report. But Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday said the decision to play Ewers or not will come Friday.

Ewers was officially listed as questionable for the Longhorns upcoming against Mississippi State.

Mississippi State’s updated availability report included 10 players (including quarterback Blake Shapen) as out for Saturday’s game against Texas.

Defensive tackles Kalvin Dinkins and Kedrick Bingley-Jones will both miss their fifth and second respective games of the season. As coach Jeff Lebby previously announced, running back Keyvone Lee will not play Saturday.

Most alarmingly, safety Isaac Smith was downgraded from probably to questionable in Thursday’s updated report. Smith left last week’s loss to Florida early after an illegal blindside block, but still enters the week with the third-most tackles in FBS (51 total tackles).

Taylor’s Take

Bulldogs fans should get ready to see a Manning at quarterback for the first time since 2003 when Eli Manning led Ole Miss to a 31-0 victory in Starkville.

Applying the logic used to interpret NFL injury reports (which is what the Student-Athlete Availability Report is) and some basic commonsense (which isn’t very common these days), Texas won’t play Ewers against Mississippi State.

Here’s a quote from Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday:

 “We want to give Quinn every opportunity to see if he’s ready to play,” Sarkisian said. “We’re not trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes. He’s improved every day and Arch has had a very good week.”

Even with the uncertainty at quarterback, the Longhorns are nearly 40-point favorites to win. If they truly believe Ewers is the better option at quarterback, why risk him reaggravating his abdominal strain two weeks before the Red River Rivalry game and three weeks before facing No. 2 Georgia?

Spoiler: You don’t risk it.

Read Mississippi State Bulldogs On SI:

Mississippi State Football Coach Jeff Lebby vs. Texas: A Tale of Two Red River Games
Mississippi State vs. Texas: Updated Gameday Weather Forecast
Texas vs. Mississippi State: Bold Predictions for a Historic Matchup

Texas vs Mississippi State: Three Bulldog Defensive Players to Watch

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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