Heading into the 2023 college football season, the Texas football team was the favorite to win the Big 12 conference, and this seemed like the best chance the Longhorns would have to make the College Football Playoff. This team is riddled with talent, and they have a top quarterback in the country with Quinn Ewers. That's a good recipe for success in college football. With the way that the Texas schedule looked, we all knew that we would find out everything we need to know about the Longhorns in their week two road matchup with Alabama football. We definitely learned a lot from that game.

Texas football put the nation on notice in week two when they marched into Tuscaloosa and handed the Crimson Tide a double digit home loss, which simply doesn't happen under Nick Saban. However, the Longhorns made it happen, and they saw a surge in the rankings because of it. After that win, the hype around the Texas program got even louder and it looked more and more likely that this could be the year for the Longhorns. However, there was another team in the Big 12 that was quietly winning, and it was the Oklahoma football team, Texas' rival.

When the Red River Rivalry rolled around in October, Texas football was still undefeated and they were ranked #3 in the country. The Longhorns were favored in the game, but the Sooners were undefeated and highly ranked as well. Oklahoma went 6-6 last season and they weren't expected to make such a dramatic turnaround, but when they defeated Texas, it showed that maybe they are the ones that are truly back. That win set Oklahoma up nicely to run the table in the Big 12 and get to the conference championship game. The season is far from over for the Longhorns as their schedule sets up nicely as well, but their season has changed quite a bit since that day.

Since the loss to Oklahoma, Texas has found a way to bounce back as they picked up a closer than expected victory against Houston in their one game since falling. The Longhorns were rolling early in that game as they went up 21-0, but disaster struck when Quinn Ewers left the game with an injury. That is the last thing that this Texas football team needed after suffering a tough loss in their rivalry game. The Longhorns went on to narrowly win that one 31-24 after Houston came back and tied the game.

Ewers is not expected to miss the remainder of the season and he should be good to go relatively soon, but he is currently out. Now, the Longhorns need a new quarterback. When Ewers went down against the Cougars, it was Maalik Murphy who came in the game for Texas to replace him. He didn't do much as he threw threw the ball just twice in the game. However, there is another QB on that roster that everybody is clamoring about, and there's a chance that we could see him play because of this injury to Ewers.

Should Texas football start Arch Manning

Arch Manning was one of the biggest names in college sports before he even stepped foot on campus in Austin. He is a true freshman QB for Texas football, and he is the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning. Because of his talent and his name, the hype surrounding him is off the charts. He has one of the top NIL valuations in college sports, and his time to be QB1 hasn't even come yet. However, that time could be coming.

Texas football needs a QB while Ewers is out, but it shouldn't be Arch Manning. Yes, the name and entertainment aspect of it is attractive, but he likely isn't ready for that, and that's why he didn't come in on Saturday when Ewers went down with the injury. There's a reason why Maalik Murphy is ahead of Manning on the depth chart, the coaching staff shouldn't try to force something if it isn't there. Manning's time in Austin will come, but it's not quite here yet.

There will likely be a mini QB competition at practice for Texas football this week, and there's certainly a chance that the staff decides that Manning is ready, but at this point, it would be surprising to see the Longhorns not go with Murphy. Texas takes on BYU football at home this Saturday, and they are big favorites.