Joe Rutland
Writer
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning suffered a concussion in last Saturday’s 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State and his status for this Saturday’s game against No. 9 Vanderbilt has been in question.
On Thursday, according to the SEC Availability Report for No. 20 Texas, Manning was listed as questionable. Also listed as questionable was stellar defensive back Michael Taaffe.
While the Longhorns’ stout defense would welcome Taaffe back in a heartbeat, don’t think the Texas offense doesn’t want its QB1 out there.
Still, concussions are a funny (and awful) thing. There are some players who probably can rebound from a concussion in a day or two; others might take three or four days, maybe longer.
Manning has been under the bright lights of scrutiny from the college football world all season long. Many in the media painted him as the Heisman Trophy favorite and had Texas as the preseason No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
At this point in the season with Texas at 6-2 overall, 3-1 in SEC play, those Heisman dreams have been shattered. Manning wasn’t touting himself as a Heisman candidate, though. That chatter came from other people.
One person who knows about playing quarterback at Texas is Colt McCoy, who recently sat down for an interview. McCoy talked about what it takes to be a signal-caller for the Longhorns. He also shared his thoughts on Manning’s progress at this point in his collegiate career.
So, the Longhorns host Vanderbilt at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday at noon Eastern. The big question: Will Manning play? That decision hasn’t officially been made by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian as of Friday morning.
If Manning cannot go, then Sarkisian will turn to Matthew Caldwell to start.
Caldwell came on the field in the first overtime against Mississippi State and threw a solid touchdown pass to wide receiver Emmett Mosley V for the go-ahead score.
Caldwell played last season for Troy in the Sun Belt Conference. He appeared in 10 games, where he threw for 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He transferred to Texas before the 2025 college football season started.
In limited appearances for the Longhorns, Caldwell has completed 8-of-11 passes for 85 yards and one touchdown. Of course, Texas fans appear to be all in on Caldwell starting over Manning if it should come down to that decision for Sarkisian.
The eyes of Texas, and the college football world, will be watching to see if Manning pops up on the field to play at DKR-Texas Memorial on Saturday in Austin, Texas.
Joe Rutland
Writer
If any Texas Longhorns fan thinks Saturday’s matchup against No. 9 Vanderbilt is going to be a cakewalk, then think again. This might just pit two of the most highly-visible starting quarterbacks in college football against each other. Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia is bringing the heat, and then some, to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium […]
Tony Thomas
Writer
The embattled coach leaves Baton Rouge with a 34-14 record and .708 winning percentage at LSU.
On a Saturday night in Starkville, Miss., the Texas Longhorns, ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 Poll at the time, were down and pretty much out against Jeff Lebby and his Mississippi State team. Then, the Longhorns started to make a comeback. Texas was down 31-14 at one point. Texas head coach Steve […]
