CFB analyst questions whether Steve Sarkisian's 'regrets' playing Quinn Ewers over Arch Manning

Arch Manning spent most of his first two seasons with the Texas Longhorns on the bench as the backup to Quinn Ewers. However, we were able to see Manning start for a few early-season games last year due to an injury to Ewers.

But the moment Ewers was ruled fit to play, he returned to the starting role.

During a section on CBS Sports on Sunday morning, college football analyst Tom Fornelli questioned whether Texas coach Steve Sarkisian regrets going back to Ewers once he returned.

"I do think you could have had a more dynamic offense with Manning as quarterback (Timestamp: 3:30) ... Maybe they could have gotten to the national championship with Manning."

Manning replaced the injured Ewers for two games in the Longhorns' 2024 season. These were against UL Monroe and Mississippi State. He also led the Longhorns for the second half of their game against UTSA (where he infamously scored a long rushing touchdown).

These were not the toughest opponents that Texas faced during the 2024 season, but Manning was clearly able to show just how strong he was. He threw for a combined 806 yards in these games, throwing for six touchdowns. These games also showed off Manning's mobility, rushing for yards during key points in each game.

But any momentum that was gained in these games for Manning soon stopped the moment Ewers returned. The games that were played from this moment were much tougher than the opponents that Manning faced when he was the starter.

However, Ewers struggled at times after his return, with mobility being his biggest issue. Luckily, Manning was brought in for the occasional play when rushing was an appropriate response to get vital yardage. Apart from that, fans did not see much of him play.

Under Ewers, Texas made the semifinals of the College Football Playoff before a last-minute error by Ewers, which cost them the win against Ohio State and the chance to make the national championship game.

The thoughts of the fans at the time have been echoed by Fornelli today: If Manning had played in that game (or for more games in the 2024 season), could the Texas Longhorns have won the national championship?

What could prevent Arch Manning from winning a national championship in 2025?

In 2025, fans will get to see if Arch Manning can lead the Texas Longhorns to a national championship. However, to do so, ESPN's Dave Wilson believes that one game is going to decide the fate of the team.

"Yet, there is no bigger test every year for Texas than Oklahoma in Dallas," Wilson said.

"This one's a bit of a mystery, with the Sooners bringing in new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer, who played high school football in the Dallas area, from Washington State. The new-look Sooners could either be a launching point or a big speed bump in the SEC schedule for a Longhorns team with national championship aspirations."

Winning the Red River showdown is a goal for any Texas quarterback, and on paper, Texas should be able to easily defeat its rivals, gaining momentum for a run to the SEC championship game.

However, as Wilson points out, there are many unknowns surrounding this Oklahoma program. If they can defeat the Longhorns, Manning's chances of winning a national championship in 2025 may be severely reduced.