While Texas won comfortably over Kentucky last week, the Longhorns are not going up against the Wildcats again this week. They have a huge road date at the in-state rival Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night with a trip to Atlanta on the line. The winner of the rekindled Lone Star Showdown will face the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta next weekend. Who could go?
Well, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Quinn Ewers is expected to start at quarterback for the Longhorns on Saturday night, despite injuring his ankle in last week's win over Kentucky. Ewers' high-ankle sprain impacted his mobility in Week 13, and therefore, the Longhorns' rushing attack. He is not the most mobile quarterback to begin with, which brings into question if Arch Manning will even play...
For Texas A&M, this is a must-win, as the Aggies have three losses on the season. For Texas, they are not out of the College Football Playoff picture entirely with a second defeat on the year. However, they would not have a win of quality on their resume, having lost both of their most important games of the year to Georgia and the Texas A&M. Right now, Texas is playing with fire with an injured Ewers.
While Texas should be able to get past the Aggies, you cannot put a price on a rivalry game like this.
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Quinn Ewers is expected to start vs. Texas A&M with a high-ankle sprain
When healthy, Ewers is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has an NFL arm, throwing the football with great precision, timing and touch, with a little giddy-up to boot. However, his inability to stay healthy has dampened his once-promising NFL Draft stock considerably. He could turn pro after this season, but all signs point to Manning taking over full-time in Austin next season. It is inevitable.
All things equal, Texas is the more talented of the two teams playing in College Station on Saturday night. However, this one is at Kyle Field at night with so much at stake for both teams. Playoff bids are on the line in primetime. I would say that if Ewers looks limited against the vaunted Texas A&M pass rush that Steve Sarkisian should have no issues with pivoting to Manning to lead the Longhorns here.
Ultimately, Texas A&M is going to need to play an A game to beat Texas, while the Longhorns may only need to play a B-plus game to prove victorious over their little brother rival. Not all rivalries are created equally, especially ones that had gone dormant for over a decade. I would expect both teams to be fired up for this game, but the cooler heads will prevail. It serves Ewers, but he must be healthy.
Since Texas is not quite a playoff lock, the Longhorns must leave no stone unturned vs. Texas A&M.