DALLAS – Saturday marks the opening weekend for the State Fair of Texas. 2.5 million people are expected to attend over the next few weeks. 

From food to rides, the fair has all kinds of new things this year.

It’s a well-oiled machine for Pizza By the Giant Slice owner Tom Grace.

“We’ve been doing this for 35 years at the State Fair of Texas,” Grace said. “We have six locations we operate out here every year.”

Grace’s son and about 65 workers keep the dough flying and customers happy.

“The State Fair of Texas breeds crazy thoughts and crazy ideas of food. People love to come out here and take pictures with the food they’re getting every year,” Grace said.

The new crazy food idea for Grace this year is Oktoberfest pizza.

“We start off with this base sauce of Alfredo, which is spicy mustard infused. It’s a nice little bite and not too much for those folks who may fear that spicy mustard, and then we have some German sausage, sliced thin like a pepperoni. We’ll put some peppers and potatoes on it,” Grace said.

The Oktoberfest pizza is topped with sauerkraut. For $15, you’ll get a huge slice.

“What we have here at our Gulf Coast Grill on Cotton Bowl Plaza is caramel macchiato fritters,” owner Clint Probst said.

The fritters are one staple bringing in the dough for Probst.

“If we have a really, really good fair and have a fried food winner, this is a semi-finalist not a winner, but if we have a fried food winner you could almost make doctor or dentist money out of just working the fair,” Probst said.

Rides are another big attraction at the fair.

“Oh man! We just did a ton of rides! I think a few more rides are coming up, maybe a few games, and a visit to Big Tex,” fair attendee Tyler Deakins said.

This is the third year the Deakins family has gone to the fair, including five-year-old Emma, who knows what her favorite ride is.

“Yes, the crazy mouth one. Whoo!” Emma Deakins said.

The State Fair of Texas includes 73 rides on the Midway, according to Senior Vice President of Operations Rusty Fitzgerald.

“We have kiddie rides for kids, we have the family-type rides, and then we have one of the more extreme rides, so you can pick your poison on that one,” Fitzgerald said.

One of the new, extreme rides is the Hip Hop, which CBS News Texas reporter Dawn White went on with Fitzgerald.

“If you’ve got a little bit of skill, and you really want to have fun and be a little wild, this is the ride to do it,” Fitzgerald said.

You still have time to have fun on the rides or 70 games. The fair continues through Oct. 20. It also features more than 200 vendor locations.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is not expected to play in the Longhorns’ SEC debut game against Mississippi State on Saturday as he recovers from an abdominal injury, ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed.

Arch Manning will make his second career start for No. 1 Texas against the Bulldogs today.

Ewers was listed as questionable on the Texas football availability report, indicating that he had a 50 percent chance to play in the game, according to the SEC’s terminology.

But the expectation is that Texas will allow Ewers this week and the team’s open weekend coming up before the Oklahoma game on Oct. 12 to fully recover from the ailment.

Ewers sustained the injury in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ victory against UTSA on Sept. 14, retiring to the sideline and then the locker room for evaluation before returning to the sideline wearing street clothes.

Ewers was able to practice with the team on Tuesday, but was limited by coaches on Wednesday and then again on Thursday, as the team placed more emphasis on giving him rest.

Manning played in relief of Ewers in the UTSA game, and made his first career start the following week with Ewers sidelined, leading Texas to a win over UL Monroe.

Ewers has dealt with some nagging injuries during his collegiate career, missing time briefly in the 2022 and 2023 seasons before the abdominal issue this year.

In three games this season, Ewers has completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns.

More … Texas vs. Mississippi State score prediction by expert football model

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Below you’ll find the top performances in rushing, receiving and passing from Dallas-area Texas high school football players in Week 5.

Rushing

Player, School, Yards

Allijah Harrison, Carrollton Newman Smith, 296

Greg Ard, McKinney North, 291

Christian Rhodes, Lake Highlands, 216

Jermirion Robertson, Lincoln, 214

Deondrae Riden Jr, DeSoto, 206

Ryder Grajo, Frisco Independence, 203

JT Harris, Euless Trinity, 201

Damarion Boozer, Carter, 194

Adarion Nettles, Mansfield Summit, 186

Keyzaylan Ware, Samuell, 176

Legend Bey, North Forney, 176

Tenel Hill, Lewisville, 166

Receiving

Player, School, Yards

Brock Boyd, Southlake Carroll, 213

Xavier Johnson, Richland, 208

Carlton Mims, Little Elm, 196

Dilon Tallie, Arlington Bowie, 177

Jordan Mosley, Princeton, 174

Blake Bates, Richardson Pearce, 164

Jett Hamby, Richardson Pearce, 163

Will Krzysiak, Argyle, 155

Ayson Theus, Duncanville, 153

Ja’Quavius Pipkin, Lancaster, 150

Jayden Beasley, Prosper, 143

Julius Spencer, Garland Lakeview Centennial, 141

Passing

Player, School, Yards

Keelon Russell, Duncanville, 474

Presley Harper, Richardson Pearce, 422

Drew Kates, Richland, 398

Marcus Flowers, Princeton, 389

Maguire Gasperson, Argyle, 387

Christian Hampton, North Garland, 364

Chris Jimerson Jr., North Crowley, 342

Grant Bizjack, Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 335

Brent Rickert, Rockwall, 321

Howard Fisher IV, Wylie East, 319

Edward Griffin, Coppell, 305

Jerry Meyer III, Waxahachie, 298

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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