So they are in. Just one more game against the Aggies, the Longhorns, and Steve Sarkisian are going straight to fight it off against Georgia. But here is the thing: back in the QB room, there has been no smooth sailing for Steve Sarkisian. See, Texas won last weekend and by a good margin as well. The offense brought in 31 points, and Quinn Ewers got in 2 touchdowns for the boys. Not bad, but was the trade-off worth it? Quinn Ewers is in a bad shape right now. He hurt his ankle, and Steve Sarkisian still thinks he can swing it hard at A&M this weekend. Overconfidence or wishful thinking?
Regardless of what it is, one thing is for sure; Arch Manning has to get down on that turf. By hook or by crook, it will happen, and that is exactly what Texas staff Ben Shipley feels as well. Back On Texas Football, Shipley mentioned, “You look at Quinn’s career, he’s never made it longer than five or six games without going out with an injury. I just feel like that at some point Arch is gonna be called on to come in and save the day. I don’t know if it’s going to be this Saturday.” Against Kentucky, Ewers was injured in the first half of the game when he was hit with a drop tackle around the 50-yard mark. For the rest of the game, it sure didn’t feel like the ankle was affecting him that badly. He kept his composure, and the Longhorns got the W.
But, with Sarkisian using him again for a VERY important rivalry game, is it sustainable? If it were a different scenario, say Sarkisian doesn’t have a good backup quarterback, then using Ewers again and again would make sense.
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However, we have all seen what Arch Manning can do on that turf. When Ewers was out because of his injury early into the season, Manning was put up against the Roadrunners, and he went ballistic. 4 touchdowns and in just 9 total passes? That alone gives him a QBR of over 90%. It ain’t no wonder why Carolin Fenton pointed out that Texas will still win a championship game even without Ewers.
Whatever Shipley said makes sense. We will see this guy back on the field, whether it is because of another Ewers injury or just Sarkisian trying to pull another Georgia fiasco (he benched Ewers at the final moment and brought out Arch to salvage the Bulldogs game). And as that chapter unfolds, we gotta talk about what awaits Sarkisian this upcoming game day.
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Longhorns renew their rivalry clash
The war of the 8-3 vs the 10-1. From the track record alone, it ain’t no wonder that Sark and his boys are the crowd favorites. Still, don’t let that fool you from the fact that the Aggies are capable enough to pull an upset for the Longhorns.
With the injury, we can expect Sark and his boys to rely more on the run game instead of the passing game. And this is where the Aggies can land a fatal blow. After that blunder against Auburn, pretty sure Mike Elko has learned his lesson and will focus on run defense more.
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He will need it against the Longhorns as Sark will try to use Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner combo. The last time both these teams went up against each other was back in 2011, and the 27-25 close call still haunts A&M. Longhorns are finally going up against another good team, and only time will tell if this will be another Georgia episode or will Steve Sarkisian save his reputation.
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Is Steve Sarkisian risking it all by playing an injured Ewers over a ready Arch Manning?
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Is Steve Sarkisian risking it all by playing an injured Ewers over a ready Arch Manning?
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