The Texas Longhorns are gearing up to face the Clemson Tigers on Saturday in the first round of the new-look 12-team college football playoff. Many fans have been clamoring for backup quarterback Arch Manning to take over the starting mantle after inconsistent play from Quinn Ewers throughout the season.
However, in Texas’ SEC Championship loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian elected to primarily keep Manning shelved. This decision left many stuns as in past games Manning had been used as a change of pace to throw off defenses.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit announced his prediction for Texas’ utilization of Manning in the playoff.
“I thought that fresh off the Georgia Tech game, [Steve Sarkisian] saw something he could attack, using Arch’s ability to exploit the edges, but he didn’t do it,” Herbstreit said. “That doesn’t mean he’s putting Arch away, but for whatever reason, he stuck with Quinn [Ewers]. Still, it makes you wonder how much Arch will factor into their next matchup. I hope we see more of him—it’s fun to watch,” Herbstreit said in an appearance on the popular podcast Pardon My Take.
“I think it’s a game-by-game approach for Arch and how they’ll use him. This is Quinn Ewers’ team, but there’s so much anticipation and excitement around Arch Manning potentially taking over, and I wonder if that dynamic is influencing Sark inside the locker room. Sark is a ‘whatever it takes to win’ kind of guy, but I think he’s also mindful of his team’s makeup, and Quinn Ewers is his quarterback. So, it’ll be a bit tricky to manage in 2024.”
Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with Herbstreit’s appearance on the podcast on social media.
“If Herbstreit didn’t want backlash he didn’t have to go on the Pardon My Take podcast and say he ‘didn’t give a [expletive]’ about most deserving and just wanted to call close games,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Kirk is so full of [expletive],” another person wrote on YouTube.
It’ll be interesting to see if Manning does go on to get an expanded role in the playoffs.
