The Texas Longhorns are expected to play the Red River Rivalry against the #18 Oklahoma Sooners at full strength in the QB room.
Starting quarterback and previous Heisman Trophy frontrunner Quinn Ewers has missed almost three games due to an upper body injury. Ewers has been on the sideline patiently watching as highly touted backup and former five-star quarterback Arch Manning has started for the team. However, after recovering from an injury suffered against UTSA, Ewers is expected to be back to 100% health.
The Texas Longhorns staff made the decision to rest Ewers during his injury against UTSA, ULM, and Mississippi State. Ewers likely would not have come back into the game against UTSA, but still had potential to return against the Warhawks. Instead, the Longhorns staff allowed Manning to become the starter to finish off the first portion of the schedule.
However, with the competition and conference play heating up, Ewers will step back into the starting role with no restrictions. The quarterback is good to go and apparently back to full health as well, which means the offense should return to their previous offensive form.
SEC is shaking right now !
— Bambino (@Bambino_W3M) October 10, 2024
QB1 IS BACK MOP THE FLOOR WITH EM EWERS
— 𝐹̶𝒶𝓂𝒾⛧̽ (@r5homixide__) October 10, 2024
This game bout to go crazy
— Billy;) (@billyep12) October 10, 2024
Before the injury, Ewers recorded 691 yards and eight touchdowns through the air with a completion percentage of 73.4%.
Oklahoma has one of the stronger defenses in the country, and aims to display that against the Longhorns during the return of Ewers.
Texas Longhorns Expected to Dominate With Starting QB Quinn Ewers Unrestricted Against Oklahoma
With Ewers fully returning to play against the Sooners, Texas is currently expected to win by 15 points in the rivalry matchup.
The Sooners defeated the Auburn Tigers in their last game, 27-21, as the team started true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. The quarterback looked great, but the offense in total struggled against the Tigers. On defense, the Sooners looked a step slow later in the game, which nearly allowed the Tigers to pull-off a comeback win.
Oklahoma is a team that is still trying to find their identity, but have enough talent to make it difficult for any opponent to walk away with a win.
For the Longhorns, paying attention to what Auburn did the last time out is going to be key to defeating the Sooners. Quarterback Payton Thorne aired the ball out for 338-yards and three touchdowns against the Sooners, nearly bringing the Tigers back in the second-half of play. Thorne did not do anything special, but rather loaded up and threw the ball deep against the Sooners.
Both the Longhorns staff and quarterback Quinn Ewers are going to have to dial up deep plays against the Sooners to secure the win.
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