It was another week for Arch Manning to have the spotlight to himself with an injured Quinn Ewers. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning delivered once again with his time as Texas’ QB1.
The top-ranked Longhorns defeated Mississippi State 35-13 with a strong effort from Manning.
Manning finished the game 26-for-31 for 324 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Manning added 33 rushing yards and another touchdown.
Texas’ ‘backup’ quarterback did have to face some adversity, as the Bulldogs held the game close with the No 1 team in the nation well into the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State is having a horrid season by its standards by slipping to 1-4, with Manning not giving the traveling Bulldogs much respite.
Manning started another game for Texas and led his team to victory over Mississippi State
Manning now improves to 3-0 in games where he has taken a majority of snaps at quarterback
Texas heads into a bye next week before a critical two-game stretch, with Manning possibly still pulling the strings.
On October 12, the Longhorns’ biggest rivalry game games played under the SEC banner for the first time with the Red River showdown against Oklahoma.
One week later, Texas hosts Georgia in what will likely be a matchup between two top-five teams with massive national-national championship implications.
Texas’ opening-game starter in Ewers has not played since the second quarter against UTSA with an oblique injury.
With how well Manning has played, some would believe he should not relinquish the starting job regardless of Ewers health status.
However, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has maintained that if Ewers is able to play, he will not be sitting on the bench.