Texas vs. Mississippi State: Staff predictions for Week 5

No. 1 Texas football marks a new era for the program this weekend, hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs at DKR for the first SEC conference game on Sep. 28.

Redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers is "not expected" to play against Mississippi State this weekend, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. Ewers has been dealing with an abdominal strain injury that he suffered early in the second quarter against the UTSA Roadrunners in Week 3.

Ewers is reportedly at "70 percent" after practice this week. He is expected to return after Texas's bye week for the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas on Oct. 12 against the Oklahoma Sooners.

With Ewers out this weekend, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning will lead Texas into the SEC against Mississippi State at home on Saturday afternoon.

Manning will get his second straight start for the Longhorns offense for the SEC opener. He led Texas to a dominant 51-3 win over the UL-Monroe Warhawks in his first career start last weekend.

Both Texas and Mississippi State will be missing their starting quarterbacks for this weekend's matchup at DKR. Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last week in the second of Mississippi State's SEC opener contest against the Florida Gators.

The quarterback injuries for both teams sets up a showdown between two freshman quarterbacks. Manning is looking to build off a performance against ULM where he looked great throwing the deep ball for the Longhorns' offense.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State will give true freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren his first career start in a tough environment this weekend against the No. 1 ranked program in the nation on the road.

Here's a look at the Hook'em Headlines staff predictions for today's SEC opener between No. 1 Texas and Mississippi State at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX, on Sep. 28 at 3:15 p.m. CT.

Game predictions for Texas football vs. Mississippi State in Week 5

Some of our predictions on the weekly Hook'em Horns Show came before the news of Manning getting the start at quarterback over Ewers. That said, we're holding firm on our score predictions for the SEC opener against Mississippi State for Week 5.

Andrew Miller: Texas-52, Mississippi State-10

Shane Black: Texas-44, Mississippi State-13

Tarik LaCour: Texas-45, Mississippi State-10

Brian Sweet: Texas-49, Mississippi State-17

Marc Henry: Texas-34, Mississippi State-17

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