Paul Finebaum don’t expect that Texas Longhorns to make the change Quinn Ewers To Arch Manning during their time in the College Football Playoffs.

Steve Sarkisians The group will begin its potential journey to a national title on Saturday, competing against the Clemson Tigers at 4:00 p.m. ET. Before the all-important showdown, Finebaum joined Stand up on Friday morning, where he explored the possibility of Manning taking over the quarterback role from Ewers.

“I think they would have to be desperate,” Finebaum responded, regarding a possible situation in which Manning could usurp Ewers during the contest, like when Tua Tagovailoa took over for Jalen hurts at Alabama. “Steve Sarkisian has been so loyal to Quinn Ewers and I don’t think he’s going to take him out.

“They need to stay back and Quinn Ewers needs to get beaten up. Otherwise, I think Arch Manning will just have to wait until next year for his turn.”

While Sarkisian has tried to use Manning to boost the Texas offense during the 2024 season, this would likely mark the end of Ewers’ time with the Longhorns in the CFP. Manning is already waiting in the wings to start in 2025, and benching Ewers would only accelerate his timeline toward becoming Texas’ unquestioned starting quarterback.

Unless Ewers gives him a choice, Finebaum doesn’t expect that to happen during the College Football Playoff. Stranger things have happened, and if the Longhorns find themselves in trouble, perhaps a change could be made.

More about Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky discussed Texas’ plans at quarterback ahead of their College Football Playoff showdown. Simply put, Orlovsky believes Arch Manning needs to be a part of what the Longhorns do to win the national title.

Specifically, Orlovsky discusses that Manning could be Texas’ option in the red zone given his efficiency as a passer and runner. However, if Ewers struggles more, he could simply become their QB1.

“I don’t think they can win the whole thing if Arch Manning doesn’t play properly at quarterback,” Orlovsky said. “… That’s where I think he has to play. I really believe that Texas needs to take Quinn Ewers out of the game and bring Arch Manning into the game in this situation. Your question to Harry was if there is a fight, a short leash. I don’t even think the leash is the topic of conversation. I think the plan has to be for Arch Manning to enter the football game if Texas slips into the red zone or that area. It has to be 11-on-11 football because the passing game? It wasn’t as precise down there as it needed to be. They won’t – they might be able to get through with a squeak Clemson If they play offensively like they did in the SEC title game, they’re not going to beat anyone after this game.”

“It’s two things. I really believe they’ll end up back in the red zone on the first drive of the game? Arch Manning should come into play. (If they lose 14-7 at halftime), Arch Manning has to come into the game. What if Quinn continues to have problems? At some point you have to have Nick Saban’s colleagues to take the step.”

Sarkisian has been at Ewers’ side for the last two seasons, with Manning as his backup. Still, Orlovsky believes that in a must-win playoff scenario from now on, the quarterback will still need to be considered for a team that can win it all, like Texas.

“There are two teams in the entire playoffs that are a matter of success or failure. One is Ohio State and one of them is Texas,” Orlovsky said. “Both teams are good enough to win the whole thing and both teams were kind of a rollercoaster enough, especially Texas on offense, to lose the first weekend.”

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.