As the college prepares for its annual Crimson River Rivalry sport in opposition to Oklahoma on Saturday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced on Thursday that quarterback Quinn Ewers will likely be returning to the beginning lineup for the Longhorns this weekend.
For Ewers, it is going to be his first time again on the sector for Texas since suffering an abdomen injury in the course of the college’s 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14. Earlier than that damage, the Longhorns junior quarterback was taking part in excellent soccer, as he had accomplished 73.4 p.c of his passes for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and simply two interceptions in three video games.
In his absence, redshirt freshman Arch Manning did an awesome job filling in, main the group to wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. If Ewers struggles in his return, it will not be shocking if there are some calls from Longhorns followers to place Manning again in because the starter.
Texas will likely be hoping Ewers can choose up proper the place he left off and assist the college stay within the No. 1 spot within the AP High-25 ballot with an undefeated document by getting a victory of their annual rivalry matchup in opposition to Oklahoma.
A win definitely is not going to return simple for the Longhorns, as victories usually by no means do on this rivalry that has been happening since 1903.
The Sooners enter the matchup ranked No. 18 with a 4-1 document. After struggling a troublesome loss to Tennessee three weeks in the past, Oklahoma was in a position to get issues again on observe in the course of the college’s following sport once they emerged from a highway matchup in opposition to Auburn with a 27-21 victory.
The win over the Tigers was further notable for the Sooners, because it occurred with the college starting a true freshman, Michael Hawkins Jr., at quarterback for the primary time this season. Hawkins will likely be making his second begin of the yr in opposition to Texas on Saturday.
Fortunately for Ewers, he has the advantage of the Longhorns having probably the greatest defenses within the nation this season. The varsity has solely allowed an average of seven points per matchup, which presently ranks second amongst FBS faculties.
So, if Ewers is a bit rusty in his first sport again, there is a good probability that Texas’s protection will be capable to give you sufficient performs to assist the group stroll off the sector with a giant victory over Oklahoma.
