No. 5-ranked Texas football is in need of a win and a strong performance after last Saturday's blowout loss against Georgia. The Longhorns are still in a good spot to make a push for the SEC Championship and reach the College Football Playoff, but they will have to make do against No. 25 Vanderbilt without one of their best players.
Wide receiver Isaiah Bond, who has been dealing with an ankle injury for a few weeks, is listed as out for the game, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
“Texas WR Isaiah Bond is officially out for the game at No. 25 Vanderbilt,” Thamel reported on X, formerly Twitter. “He's been dealing with a nagging ankle injury and will have a chance to rest it on Texas' bye.”
Bond tried to gut it out and play against Georgia, but clearly was below 100%. He managed just two catches for 11 yards and a touchdown during the game. For the season, Bond leads Texas in receiving despite the ankle limiting his production over the previous two games. He has racked up 380 yards and four touchdowns on 23 catches in his first season with the team.
True freshman standout Ryan Wingo is due to get the start with Bond out. Wingo has flashed the ability that made him a highly-coveted recruit and has 308 yards and two touchdowns.
The news that Bond is out comes on the heels of the report that star safety Andrew Mukuba will also miss Saturday's game with a knee injury that he suffered against Georgia, so Steve Sarkisian and company will have to make it work without two of their best players, one on each side of the ball. Texas does have a bye week after this game, so Bond and Mukuba will have a few weeks to rest before Texas takes on Florida.
Quinn Ewers seeking rebound for Texas against Vanderbilt
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is in need of a big game against Vanderbilt after one of the worst showings of his career against Georgia. Ewers was briefly benched for Arch Manning near the end of the first half with Texas trailing by three scores, but he was reinserted after halftime and played a little bit better.
Still, a player of Ewers' stature being benched in such a big game on a national stage has to take a confidence hit. His final stat line wasn't bad — 25-for-43 with 211 yards, two touchdowns and an interception — but the way the game played out in the first half was very ugly.
Now, Ewers will have to rebound without his top target against a Vanderbilt team that has been very feisty this season and has already pulled off a few upsets. In order to avoid a similar fate as some of those teams that have lost to the Commodores, Ewers will have to find his form after playing a pair of pedestrian games by his standards since returning from injury.
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