All signs point to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers returning to Oklahoma on Saturday in the annual Red River Rivalry game.
Ewers suffered an oblique injury against UT San Antonio on September 14 and missed the Longhorns’ last two games against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. Ewers has been practicing since last week ahead of the Texas Week 6 bye.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters at his Monday news conference that he feels “good” about Ewers’ chances of returning for Saturday’s game.
“Quinn worked our three practices last week,” Sarkisian told reporters, per Lonestar Live. “He practiced again today. I thought he looked good when he said goodbye. I think if anyone took advantage of the time off, it was probably him.
“We’re going to keep an eye on him every day, just to see how he continues to develop. But I feel good about how he was today. I feel good about him going on Saturday, but that remains to be seen .”
Arch Manning, a five-star prospect and the cousin of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, has started in Ewers’ absence. He threw four touchdowns after replacing Ewers in Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA and led the Longhorns to a 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe and a 35-13 victory over Mississippi State.
Manning struggled relatively with two interceptions while completing 15 of 29 passes against Louisiana-Monroe, but that didn’t make much of a difference in the Longhorns’ 48-point win. He continued to play well in Ewers’ absence, completing 70.5% of his passes for 11.6 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns and two interceptions this season.
A third-year starter for Texas, Ewers was a Heisman Trophy candidate before his injury and earned second-team All Big 12 honors in 2023. He completed 73.4% of his passes for 8.7 yards per attempt with eight touchdowns and two interceptions in two. -plus games prior to his injury.
In the event that Ewers cannot go, Sarkisian expressed continued confidence in Manning in what would be the biggest test of his college career.
“I have no hesitation in having Arch participate in the competition,” Sarkisian said. “I think he proved to us over two and a half games of football that he really played and competed, that he can run our offense and that he can be successful.”
Texas (5-0) enters Saturday’s game having reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the AP poll following Alabama’s stunning loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Texas is now ranked No. 1 in three of the seven AP polls this season.
Saturday will mark the first time Texas and Oklahoma play their rivalry game since the programs left the Big 12 for the SEC. Oklahoma enters Saturday’s rankings at 18th in the AP poll after starting 4-1.
The Sooners replaced second-year starting quarterback Jackson Arnold with highly touted freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. during a Week 4 loss to Tennessee. Hawkins had 161 passing yards and 69 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown and no turnovers in last week’s 27-21 win over Auburn.
