Aggies and Longhorns HATE each other, and that is what makes this rivalry game so spicy. Going into this, the winner of this showdown is going for the championship game against Georgia, so if Steve Sarkisian wants his revenge, he better put on the big boy pants and win this. But here is the deal: Longhorns and Quinn Ewers are having some “problems”. With that entire injury scene, we still don’t know if Ewers is gonna put up an optimal performance on the gridiron. Does this mean Sark and his boys are doomed from the start, and the Aggies have the upper hand against Texas Longhorns?

Yeah, not really. Joel Klatt was quick to point out on his show that “Texas is going to be just fine, just fine.” When this season started off, and Ewers was injured early, one guy managed to keep the boat floating for Sarkisian and his crew. Enter Arch Manning. Now, in most scenarios, backup QBs are often average at best. Not Manning. Almost 1000 yards with 9 touchdowns and already a 79.3 QBR. Even if we took Ewers out of the equation right at this very moment, Texas would still win a championship.

With Manning on the side, the Longhorns will never lose out on QB depth. Yes, in terms of overall throws and presence, Ewers is your go-to, but Manning has proved himself to be reliable as well.

The entire game against Roadrunners and then against Warhawks and MS State are prime examples of why Sarkisian can always count on Manning. It’s pretty much what Ben Shipley pointed out a few days back; “I just feel like that at some point Arch is gonna be called on to come in and save the day.”

Now, is this going to happen on Saturday? We don’t know yet. What we do know is Sarkisian has a lot of risk going into this showdown. The biggest critique of the Longhorns this year was the fact that they had faced no one good. The only team with a pulse who crossed paths with Texas was Georgia. And let’s be honest, we all know how that turned out for Steve Sarkisian and Co. So, will Mike Elko make it an upset for Sark as well?

Rivalry renewed: Longhorns vs Aggies

The sole reason why Elko and Co. are still in the playoff run is because of Bama losing to Oklahoma. See, after that mishap against Auburn, the dreams of hitting the playoffs were pretty much off the table. Now, with hope renewed, can Elko come out with a win?

A game-changer for Elko would’ve been Le’Veon Moss. But now that he is out with his lower-body injury, the weight is going to fall on QB Marcel Reed. See, Reed has everything one needs to be a good QB. Dude is good at running attempt,s and his overall pass game is good enough to keep the ship floating.

But here is the thing; the main problem Reed is going to create for the Longhorns is through the explosive plays. When we talk about a dual-threat QB, Reed is the perfect dude to check all the boxes. You will never guess when he starts running with the football for some explosive plays.

If Elko wants that W, he has to do everything possible to create an opening for his QB. On the other end, his defense has to do everything possible to stop Ewers and his pass game. At the crux of it all, whoever controls the field better wins this showdown.