Texas will bench Arch Manning if he struggles vs. Ole Miss

Throughout the week, speculation swirled about whether Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian would bench senior quarterback Arch Manning if his struggles continue during Saturday’s game against the Ole Miss Rebels in Austin and how Sarkisian would distribute first-team reps between Manning and sophomore backup KJ Lacey.

Sarkisian wasn’t forthcoming about either consideration during his two media availabilities this week, but College GameDay provided more perspective on Saturday with ESPN reporter Pete Thamel revealing that the first-team reps were nearly evenly split between the two quarterback early in the week before Manning’s reps increased as the week progressed.

In a conversation with analyst Kirk Herbstreit on Friday, Sarkisian revealed that he told Manning in their Sunday meeting that Lacey was going to spend more time with the first team. Herbstreit described Sarkisian as “blown away” by how Manning responded in practice.

“I wish I had done this sooner, even last year,” Sarkisian told Herbstreit.

But Manning still needs to translate his practice performances into games, a common theme for the entire Longhorns team after back-to-back losses to unranked teams.

“If Arch Manning struggles today, if he doesn’t have accuracy, if he turns the ball over, Texas is not afraid to shift to KJ Lacey,” Thamel said.

On Thursday, Sarkisian described Manning as “edgy” after being challenged by his week coach this week.

“Honestly, I appreciate that about him,” Sarkisian said. “At some point he’s gotta fight back.”

But if it doesn’t happen on Saturday, Manning’s Texas career could effectivey be over.