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Regardless who starts, Texas has to establish some sort of run game in order to win. I don’t think the team can afford to go into crisis mode like they did the last 2 weeks.

Watching the circus at LSU really does make you appreciate the stretch we’ve had with Eltife. The Abbott-appointed board hasn’t churned out a single Perry-era Regent clown show, and that’s no small thing. Eltife’s handled this like a pro — world-class chairman, steady rep for UT, and the kind of leadership that keeps us out of the tabloid mess other schools are living in.

Sark’s playing it smart here — keep the offense steady, let Vandy guess, and don’t hand them a free scouting report. Truth is, Arch gives you the off-script juice with his legs, but Caldwell’s résumé shows he can work the system: quick game, screens, and those intermediate throws that Sark loves to dial up. No need to reinvent the wheel, just execute. And honestly, with this defense playing at the level it is, Texas doesn’t need Superman at QB on Saturday. Just someone steady enough to move the chains and protect the ball. Whether it’s Arch or Caldwell, this is still Texas’ game to lose.

Take the PFF numbers however you will, but it's all we've got. Nobody knows better than Sark what Caldwell can do. That's why if Texas wins the game, this will have to be up there with the OU game, last year's win over Michigan and the 2023 Alabama game for the best games Sark has called/managed.

Would be interesting to see the teams with the greatest uptick / delta from 2nd to 3rd quarter or even 1st half grade to second half grade.

Imagine leaving a stable gig to run Oklahoma State’s offense… that’s like trading a steakhouse job (even if it is in Collie Station) for managing a Golden Corral

Whether Arch Manning is out of concussion protocol in time to start at quarterback for No. 20 Texas against No. 9 Vanderbilt at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) or Matthew Caldwell makes his Forty Acres starting debut, don’t expect Steve Sarkisian’s offense to change much, if at all. “We haven’t changed anything that we’ve done,” Sarkisian said on a Zoom call with reporters after Thursday’s practice. “Our system has been our system.” It’s true that Sarkisian’s attack has looked largely the same, no matter which of the five quarterbacks he’s called upon to start in his tenure (Manning, Hudson Card, Casey Thompson, Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy) have run the show. Nevertheless, none of those quarterbacks operated the offense the same. Manning, who practiced on Thursday but remains in concussion protocol, Sarkisian said, is making progress toward getting back on the field. If he can’t go, however, Sarkisian remains steadfast in his belief that Caldwell’s coaches and teammates “have the utmost confidence and respect” in the Troy transfer to get the job done. Regarding how the offense will function with Caldwell at the controls, it’s to Sarkisian’s benefit to play coy and avoid revealing his hand to Clark Lea and the Commodores. Everybody outside the Moncrief Complex has a limited viewing sample of what Caldwell can do, Sarkisian said, “but he gives us a ton of confidence in the way that he practices every day, the way that he works.” Between Caldwell’s 2023 season at FCS Gardner-Webb and what he did in five starts with the Trojans in 2024, there are two areas in which he could help Texas (6-2, 3-1 SEC) move the football through the air. Five of Caldwell’s seven touchdown passes in 2023 came on pass attempts behind the line of scrimmage. Caldwell earned a 74.3 season-long grade from Pro Football Focus on those throws, going 43-for-47 for 250 yards, which is better than Manning’s 2025 grade on pass attempts behind the line of scrimmage of 70.2 (52-for-54 for 371 yards and no touchdowns). Caldwell had more success on intermediate throws (pass attempts 10-19 yards down the field) at Troy last season, recording a PFF grade of 85.7 (28-for-46 for 433 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions). Caldwell’s overtime touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V in last week’s win over Mississippi State was an intermediate-range throw, a part of the field in which he’s 3-for-4 for 44 yards (a PFF grade of 86.8) and where Manning hasn’t been at his best this season (27-for-54 for 431 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions). Caldwell’s ability to execute screens and quick throws behind the line of scrimmage, along with the intermediate throws that Sarkisian’s play-calls can scheme open, can stabilize an offense that otherwise couldn’t lean on Manning extending the play with his legs, be a factor in the running game or hit chunk-yardage plays on deep balls (on 60 career pass attempts thrown 20 or more yards down the field, Caldwell has completed just 19, throwing two touchdowns against seven interceptions). The Longhorns shouldn’t be expected to run either quarterback much; Manning wouldn’t be asked to run more than necessary for obvious reasons and in addition to Caldwell fumbling seven times (48 official rushing attempts, including sacks) in 2024, his elevation to QB1 would put KJ Lacey one play away from the first meaningful action of his true freshman season. The closest thing Texas has had to a recognizable identity on offense is when it relies on Manning’s athleticism to extend plays. Manning's legs have taken pressure off the offensive line and created explosive plays down the field. Even if Caldwell can’t do those things, Sarkisian is confident in the offense putting a winning brand of football on the field with the well-traveled veteran at the wheel. “The game plan is the game plan,” Sarkisian said. “I think all of his teammates have a ton of confidence in Matt if it’s his time to go.” View full news story

34-23 Texas. My undergrad alma mater takes it to my grad school alma mater

This was my guess too, 31-13 Texas. Maybe I am optimistic but I think we play a solid game.

Anyone know Ange Kelly's contract situation? CDC usually doesn't make a change on the non revenue sports until the contract runs out (like softball). Coach Kelly has done a fair job, but Texas has never been considered a championship contender and that's what CDC wants for every program.

PK does a great job with adjustments, not sure we can say the same about the offensive side. Apparently the other team's defense also does a great job of adjusting against Texas if my memory serves me correctly.

ima say. texas gets on track & wins by 17+

Damn, I remember Scott and the Wild Bunch when I was at UT in the early 90’s. Always there, always cheering, and always classy.

Last time I checked Magic had four titles and Kobe had three by the time they were old as fat boy.

3-2 Texas

I don't know what you smokin, but it must be good. Luka be a PG, not a SG. He ain't even Jerry West. Not close to Magic or Kobe.

Where's Georgia?!

He's legitimately one of the best DC's in the country. The defense has made some great hires, credit to Sark and PK

All the pundits, the fans, the haters who all built him up and then tore him down are completely disingenuous. It was THEIR confirmation bias that led them to make unrealistic, unfair predictions about Arch. I bought into it to some degree as well after seeing him light it up last year. But it was sheer stupidity that led all of us to believe Arch was somehow immune from the same learning curve that literally every single QB has ever had to experience. Sheer stupidity. And it’s sheer arrogance (and stupidity) that’s now leading the same people to tear him down. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it makes zero sense to pre-judge Arch’s cfb career until the end of 2026.

It seems like, for the last couple of years, PK has done a really good job of making in-game adjustments, specifically coming out of halftime. This metric confirms that it's not just me seeing things. He and his staff are doing a really good job of adjusting on the fly:

Some really good stuff here from Colt on Arch's growth:

Whether Arch, Hutson, and Taaffe play or not... Vanderbilt - 6 TEXAS - 34

I don’t think Arch enters in to the calculus one bit. If Sark wants a shot at the NFL he’ll go for it. If he wants to stay at the college level, he stays.

What ridiculous narrative are haters like Danny Kanell and Tom Fornelli (“somebody please knock Texas out so that I don’t have to watch them in the CFP”) going to concoct when Texas beats a top-10 team and just keeps winning? 24-14 Texas