3 reasons why not starting Arch Manning against Kentucky could be a huge mistake
It's been a quarterback conundrum for Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian who's undecided between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning as the starting quarterback for their upcoming game against Kentucky Wildcats this week. Notably, this will be the team's last game in Austin, and imperatively if they lose, they might hurt their chances of making the 12-team College Playoff Field. They are 9-1 overall and No. 3 entering Week 13.
As such, going with Manning at this point in the season could be a bold one but not one completely out of context considering Ewers' struggles over the last few games.
3 reasons why Arch Manning should start over Quinn Ewers
1) Arch Manning is more mobile than Quinn Ewers
From a technical point of view, Quinn Ewers isn't as mobile as Arch Manning though a sample size is too small to compare. Ewers, who missed three games this season, hasn't done well as a rusher, with him putting negative yardage (-55 yards) on 28 carries including one score.
Meanwhile, Manning is not a Lamar Jackson-type rusher but is at least mobile to make room for passes. As a rusher, he has run for 81 yards on 17 carries including three scores.
2) Manning is a better long-range passer than Ewers
While Quinn Ewers is known as a short-range gunner making few-yard passes successfully, Manning has better field vision, with some even hailing him better than his Super Bowl-winning uncles (Peyton and Eli Manning).
This season, the longest successful pass Ewers has thrown is 50 yards while in that same aspect, Manning has thrown for 75 yards. A long ranger helps in crunch situations and in that regard, the freshman quarterback's arm reaches more distance.
3) Important games ahead of Texas
Kentucky Wildcats will just be a miniature version as compared to the teams they'll be facing in the college football playoffs and potentially the SEC Championship game. Quinn Ewers struggled in the only loss Longhorns suffered this season which was against Georgia Bulldogs.
In that game, Ewers' passing rate dropped to 58.1% (25 of 43 passes completed) a far cry from his season average of 68.4%. And this has been the case with Ewers, who have somehow not been able to keep up with his performance, especially against strong defensive units.
So if Steve Sarkisian even has the slightest doubts on whether Ewers is their starting quarterback, they must go with Arch Manning to give him experience before he goes against top teams.