Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers will reportedly not start for the Longhorns against Mississippi State on Saturday, according to Anwar Richardson. Arch Manning will make his second career start and his first start against an SEC rival.

Ewers will miss his second straight game after suffering an oblique injury in the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian called Ewers questionable earlier in the week and noted that he has improved. Ewers returned to training, where he took part in a limited capacity.

Ewers is reportedly at 70 percent, and the Longhorns want him to be fully healthy to play next week against Oklahoma. Texas has two straight games against No. 21 Oklahoma, followed by No. 2 Georgia, two of its four games against ranked opponents this season.

Saturday’s game against Mississippi State may not be as significant as the two upcoming games, but it notably marks the Longhorns’ debut against an SEC opponent for the first time since joining the conference this season. Texas, which previously played in the Big 12, opened its season with four non-conference games against Colorado State, Michigan, UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe.

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Since Ewers is out, Manning has filled in for him. Manning took over for Ewers against UTSA and went 9-12 for 223 yards and four touchdowns after Ewers was sidelined due to injury. Manning also rushed for a 67-yard touchdown to secure the overwhelming victory.

Manning didn’t play quite as well in his first career start the following week, but he still led the Longhorns to a commanding 51-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Manning completed 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns against the Warhawks.

Manning will now face a Mississippi State team that is 1-3 and has lost each of its last three games. The Bulldogs are also missing their starting quarterback. Mississippi starter Blake Sharpen suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Florida last week, and true freshman Michael Van Buren will get his first career start. Van Buren saw some action against Florida after Sharpen left the game, going 7-13 for 100 yards.

Even without Ewers, Texas is the clear favorite to win and is off to a 5-0 start to the season. The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 and are one of the deepest teams in the country. They will likely want the more experienced quarterback Ewers available for their tougher opponents next week, but should have no trouble getting a win without him this week.

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