Arch Manning is off the Texas injury report and is set to start Saturday against No. 9 Vanderbilt.
Manning was previously listed as “questionable” for the No. 20 Longhorns after he suffered a concussion during overtime of Texas’ win at Mississippi State in Week 9. Matthew Caldwell replaced Manning against MSU and would be next in line.
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Manning was injured last weekend when his head bounced off the turf as he ran for 12 yards to start overtime. Two plays later, Caldwell threw what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown pass as Texas stopped the Bulldogs on their possession.
Before leaving the game against MSU, Manning was 29-of-46 passing for 346 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Through eight games this season, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite is completing 61% of his passes for 1,795 yards and 15 TDs with six interceptions. The Mississippi State game was just the second time Manning had thrown for over 300 yards all season.
Whereas Manning had only been a spot starter for Texas in 2024 before taking over as the No. 1 QB this year, the well-traveled Caldwell has plenty of college football experience. He played in 10 games for Troy a season ago and threw for 1,608 yards and 13 TDs while tossing eight interceptions.
Before playing at Troy, Caldwell signed with Jacksonville State out of high school and transferred to Gardner-Webb.
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The game between Texas and Vanderbilt is a de facto elimination game for the College Football Playoff as November begins. The Longhorns (6-2) can’t afford another loss as they have games against No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M remaining over the final four weeks of the season as well. Texas is the only school in the country to play three top-10 teams in the last month of the regular season.
Vanderbilt (7-1) may be able to make the playoff with another loss, but its chances of making the SEC title game will take a big hit and the Commodores would need some help from other SEC teams to stay in the playoff race.