It’s now 35-7 in favor of Texas over UTSA. That’s but a mere side story to what we’ve seen take place in the first half at quarterback.

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I wanted to offer some thoughts since we’ll certainly be talking about it after the game on our YouTube channel Inside Texas Football immediately after the game. Please like and subscribe if you haven’t already.

What we know

Quinn Ewers had a mild ding to his hand on his first touchdown pass but returned to play. He would leave later with what Steve Sarkisian called a strained abdomen.

Arch Manning is playing in Ewers’ absence and threw a beautiful touchdown to Johntay Cook before taking off on his own 67-yard house call.

After that, Texas missed a couple of protections and Manning looked….rattled isn’t the right wording…let’s go with….out of rhythm.

Ewers has injury history at Texas and in high school at Southlake Carroll.

Manning just led a first half TD drive with a swing pass to Isaiah Bond. Bond did most of the work but that’s a reminder of Texas still being very dangerous.

What we think we know

Ewers is a tightly wound passer. It’s both a gift when making a pass few are capable of but it could increase torque on his muscles and joints. This appeared to be a non-contact injury.

Manning is the most talented backup in the country. Maybe you could argue for some others but it’s semantics. We know he has talent but Sark will need to custom fit his play calling to keep his redshirt quarterback on schedule. Fortunately, Manning is more advanced than most young quarterbacks and has a very good supporting cast. Think of Colt McCoy in 2006.

What we don’t know

How long will Ewers be out? If it’s a mild strain, one or two weeks. That would be perfectly fine. Texas has UL-M, Mississippi State, and then a bye week before Oklahoma. Trey Owens could navigate that schedule. Things change after the bye with Oklahoma and Georgia in successive weeks. Texas needs Ewers back by then.

We don’t want to guess but Ewers didn’t look like he was in much pain. Let’s call it a little discomfort that would become worse with more exposure.

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I think things will be perfectly fine. It doesn’t appear to be a severe injury and Texas has a navigable schedule in the coming weeks. If it had to happen, this is the best week for it.

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