Steve Sarkisian reveals Texas’s starting QB for Red River Rivalry

Steve Sarkisian is not waiting until Saturday, confirming on Thursday who will start on Saturday in the Red River Rivalry.

During his weekly pre-game teleconference, Sarkisian confirmed that Quinn Ewers, Texas’s starting quarterback to open the season, is back and will start for the Longhorns in his first game back since a Week 3 injury. Ewers was listed as probable on Wednesday’s availability report and had missed the past 2 games.

It had already been reported and expected that Ewers would be back for the massive rivalry showdown with Oklahoma. For now, Arch Manning will return to his role as the backup.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian officially announced that QB Quinn Ewers will start vs. Oklahoma. He missed the teams previous two games after suffering an oblique strain vs. UTSA.

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 10, 2024

Ewers was off to an electric start to the season, throwing for 691 yards and completing 73.4% of his passes and 8 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. He was at the top of the Heisman Trophy conversation before missing 2 games and it might be too much to overcome the missed time, but he remains one of the best QBs in the country when healthy.

As for Manning, he shined in his first 2 career starts and in Week 3 after replacing Ewers. Manning completed 70.5% of his passes for 901 yards and accounted for 12 total touchdowns with 2 interceptions so far this season.

Heading into the game, Texas is a 14.5-point favorite per bet365, and the return of Ewers only solidifies the Longhorns as a major favorite.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.