When the history of the 2024 season is told, Texas fans will have to concede the Longhorns caught some breaks with opposing quarterbacks. The Horns haven't exactly faced a string of Heisman Trophy contenders.

Two-thirds of the way through the regular season, Texas has faced mostly young, inexperienced signal-callers in building a 7-1 record. Georgia’s Carson Beck, who engineered UT’s only loss, has also thrown double-digit interceptions.

Texas’ next two opponents are now facing serious quarterback issues. Florida’s DJ Lagway was knocked out of Saturday’s game with a “pretty significant” hamstring issue, according to coach Billy Napier, turning things over to a third-stringer. Arkansas’ Taylen Green was also replaced against Ole Miss due to a leg injury.

None of this automatically clears the way for the sixth-ranked Longhorns (7-1, 3-1 SEC). But it’s likely to help improve their odds of getting more wins in the pursuit of the SEC championship game. Texas hosts Florida on Saturday and then travels to Arkansas on Nov. 16.

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Going into Saturday’s slate of games, Texas had the nation’s third-best passing defense, having allowed 135.8 yards per game. It wasn't a murderers’ row of passers.

Colorado State’s Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi ranks 90th nationally in passing yards per game. Michigan’s starter against Texas got benched. UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State all started quarterbacks who had four career starts or less on their resume. Oklahoma’s starter Michael Hawkins Jr. also got benched.

Beck’s Bulldogs did beat the Longhorns 30-15 in Austin. But Beck completed just 23 of 41 passes for 175 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Texas’ offensive turnovers created multiple short fields, helping Georgia stake an insurmountable lead.

As of now, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia stands as possibly the best overall quarterback the Horns have faced. Pavia’s running and throwing ability make him exceptionally dangerous; he had 210 total yards and accounted for three scores against UT. Vanderbilt picked up another win Saturday at Auburn, by the way.

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Florida had already lost Graham Mertz to a season-ending injury. Lagway, the backup, went into Saturday’s game against Georgia have completed 63% of his passes for just over 1,000 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Third-stringer Aiden Warner finished out the game against Georgia. Warner originally went to Yale and then transferred to Florida. As one might expect, Warner struggled on the "Cocktail Party" stage. He was 7-for-22 for 66 yards in a 34-20 loss. 

The Razorbacks are also trying to figure out their quarterback situation. Green suffered a leg injury in the first quarter against the Rebels while getting tackled from behind on a 14-yard run.

Green left the game temporarily and returned with a heavy bandage on his left knee. Instead of risking it, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman switched to redshirt freshman Malachi Singleton in the second half.

Before leaving the game, Green completed 10 of 14 passes for 158 yards. He also left the Tennessee game early with a knee injury.