Should Steve Sarkisian start Arch Manning in the College Football Playoff?

Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian has made it clear this season that Quinn Ewers is the leader of the offense. Sarkisian has not come close to benching Ewers for good to make redshirt freshman Arch Manning the starting quarterback for Texas at any point this season.

It's time to put the Arch Manning vs. Quinn Ewers QB Texas football debate in the rearview

After consecutive games with multiple turnovers, should Sarkisian now consider the possibility of starting Manning?

Manning was utilized a few times in specific run-play packages in the last two games against the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies in the regular season finale in the Lone Star Showdown and the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game yesterday.

Against Georgia in the regular season is the one game when Sarkisian made a quarterback change to go from Ewers to Manning in the first half. But he quickly put Ewers back in the game in the second half of that Georgia matchup.

After Ewers suffered an upper-body injury in Week 3 against UTSA in non-conference play in the regular season, Manning sparked the Texas offense with four passing touchdowns and one rushing score. Manning combined for five more touchdowns in two double-digit victories against UL-Monroe in Week 4 and the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the regular season opener in his two starts while Ewers was out due to the oblique strain injury.

The storm brewing against Ewers on social media by a handful of Texas fans that want to see a change at quarterback with Sarkisian starting Manning over Quinn in the postseason for the past few weeks outsize the offensive struggles and costly turnovers for this group recently.

Former college and NFL QB for the Packers Kurt Benkert claimed in a post on X on Dec. 7 that Texas "would have won" with Arch at quarterback instead of Ewers. Another Texas fan said on X that they're "ready for Arch Manning full-time" for the Longhorns.

Ewers turned the ball over twice in the red zone in the win over Texas A&M in College Station and had two more interceptions against Georgia this weekend in the SEC title game in Atlanta. He had a few overthrows late in the game and in overtime at key times in the SEC title game in the red zone and in plus territory for the Texas offense.

Ewers has the experience and starts in the postseason to lead Texas

I've said it over and over again this season in 2024, Ewers is the guy for Texas right now. Arch will have his time after Ewers is expected to enter the 2025 NFL Draft next spring. He's learned the offense under Ewers as the starting quarterback for the past two years.

As CJ Vogel pointed out in a post on social media after the loss to Georgia for the SEC Championship Game for the Longhorns, Ewers put up over 350 passing yards against the Dawgs stingy front seven on defense.

Ewers didn't make enough happen in the passing game for Texas to overcome a complete lack of support from the ground game on offense. Texas's ground game managed just 31 yards on 28 carries against Georgia's defensive front yesterday, 110 fewer than the dawgs had from their rushing attack on offense.

Texas got beat in the trenches for the second time against Georgia this fall. Ewers was sacked a season-high six times against Georgia's athletic outside linebackers and edge rushers up front. He was also pressured a combined 35 times in the pocket against Georgia in the two games against Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker, and Warren Brinson.

Ewers and the Longhorns have to improve the red zone efficiency chances on offense in the postseason to have the scoring run to push for the National Championship in the College Football Playoff.

"We just didn't capitalize at the end of the day. I think it was all on us. We had plenty of opportunities to go capitalize and just some games go that way I guess. We're going to take a look at it and go from there."

- Quinn Ewers on Texas's red zone issues

Special teams, trenches battles, and turnovers were the most costly factors for the Longhorns and Ewers losing to Georgia twice.

Texas's offensive and special teams units have left too much meat on the bone in the SEC in the 2024 season. Ewers threw the ball 46 times yesterday in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia because Texas couldn't capitalize on the ground with Quintrevion Wisner and the rushing attack on offense.

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