Arch Manning is ready, and we’re ready for Arch Madness.

On Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe, the expectation is that Manning will make his highly anticipated first career start as Quinn Ewers nurses a strained oblique injury. That’s on the heels of Manning’s 5-touchdown performance in relief of the injured Ewers, which launched Arch Madness into full chaos mode.

“Madness” is anyone suggesting that Manning has a path to overtake Ewers for the starting role. Anyone who suggests that might’ve been in a coma for the past 24 months and missed the part where Ewers established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. That included leading Texas to its first Big 12 title in 14 years, and more recently, it included Ewers establishing himself as the Heisman Trophy favorite with a Big House-silencing masterclass against the defending national champs.

So no, lighting up Lousiana-Monroe won’t make Steve Sarkisian suddenly think twice about who his QB1 should be.

But at the same time, Manning’s role could be the difference in Texas competing for a national title. We’re a year removed from Maalik Murphy’s QB2 role being the difference in Texas competing for a national title. Without his efforts in the 2 games he started for an injured Ewers, a 2-loss Texas wouldn’t have had a Playoff spot to compete for in the Big 12 Championship.

Yes, there’s more grace in the 12-team Playoff era. Yes, there’s perhaps more grace in Texas’ SEC schedule than any other league member; Texas only plays 2 teams that won 8 games last year (Georgia and Oklahoma) with 1 true road game until mid-November (at Vanderbilt).

Here’s what the remaining slate looks like:

  • vs. Louisiana-Monroe
  • vs. Mississippi State
  • Bye
  • vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas)
  • vs. Georgia
  • at Vanderbilt
  • Bye
  • vs. Florida
  • at Arkansas
  • vs. Kentucky
  • at Texas A&M

Manageable? Sure, but last I checked, Texas is still trying to do something that it failed to do from 2010-22. That is, get to 10 regular-season wins. Texas teams with experienced starters couldn’t do that. Depending on the extent of the Ewers injury, the Longhorns could need Manning to start multiple games. That’s been the case in Ewers’ first 2 seasons as Texas’ starter, and the non-contact nature of his latest injury served as a reminder that depth at the quarterback position is never a bad thing.

Ideally, Sarkisian can be as conservative as possible with Ewers. Even if that means he all but eliminates himself from the Heisman Trophy race — Charlie Ward is the only Heisman winner in the past 40 years who missed a game vs. Power 5 competition — it’s worth it to make sure he’s fully healed for a deep run in the expanded Playoff.

If Manning looks in over his head against ULM, how would Sarkisian handle Texas’ SEC debut against Mississippi State? Granted, the Bulldogs couldn’t even stay on the field against Toledo and would be significant underdogs even if Texas promised to run a Wildcat offense all game. Still, though. Manning looking the part — just as he did against UTSA — will make Sarkisian breathe easier. Given the nature of Ewers’ oblique injury, Manning filling in well could literally make him breathe easier.

I know that’s not a popular stance because plenty of people would assume that Ewers doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Manning like it’s Sugar Bowl Media Day all over again, but he has no reason to be insecure about losing his job.

Even if Ewers’ injury is more serious than what early indications are and Manning leads Texas past Oklahoma and Georgia, what motivation would Sarkisian have to stick with Manning? That’s a move you make if your team needs a spark; that’s not a move you make if your previous QB was the driving force behind the program’s first AP No. 1 ranking in 16 years.

Texas fans know that. Certain national media members who don’t know how to evaluate Manning’s play with a single ounce of context/nuance will bypass that. After all, Arch Madness is upon us.

At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with getting ridiculously excited to see some of the plays Manning makes against Louisiana-Monroe. We freaked out when 2023 classmate Nico Iamaleava did things like that against FCS Chattanooga (he then backed it up against NC State). We’re allowed to acknowledge Manning’s development, just as Sarkisian repeated throughout spring. It was confirmed when Manning looked infinitely more prepared for Texas’ spring game than he did the previous year.

It’s OK to point out when Manning does something like rip off the longest run by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young.

The dude can scoot. The dude can also throw off-platform and change arm angles well for someone who entered his redshirt freshman season with 5 FBS pass attempts.

Last Saturday was a rough one for the “he’s only getting hyped because of his last name” crowd. Maybe those folks will have their moments if Manning struggles while filling in for Ewers, but so far, so good.

But “so good that he makes Sarkisian ditch Ewers” isn’t an obtainable goal for Manning. The goal should be to keep Texas afloat as long as Ewers is sidelined. It doesn’t mean Manning has to be perfect. It means that he has to put Texas in position to win every time he steps on the field.

That may be easier said than done. On Saturday in what could be his first career start, Manning could again make things look easy. Just don’t think that’ll make Sarkisian’s decision hard.

Take Arch Madness for what it is, not for what it isn’t.