Texas heads home for the first time in a month and a lot has happened in that time. They lost to Oklahoma and suffered another major loss in Houston with the injury to starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. The good news is that Ewers doesn’t appear to be out for the season, but his shoulder injury will sideline him for a minimum of multiple weeks.
We heard all offseason how the Longhorns’ quarterback room is arguably the most talented in the country. Now is the time for Texas to prove it. Ewers was playing very good this year, especially in conference play. Now backup quarterback Maalik Murphy will get his first shot at starting for the Longhorns with heralded five-star recruit Arch Manning possibly receiving playing time against the Cougars. Neither Murphy nor Manning will play perfect, and the expectations shouldn not be that they do. It is important to remember that both have limited or no in-game experience in Manning’s case. There is enough talent on offense around them to succeed, but it will require other components of this Texas team to step up in the absence of Ewers.
The Secondary Needs to Step Up
The Texas secondary was playing well early in the season but that has not been the case of late. Injuries have played a part but the guys who are healthy need to play better than they have in the last few weeks. Cornerback Ryan Watts has a chance to make his much-needed return this week after suffering a hamstring injury in the Kansas game on September 30th. His absence has been felt and it will be extremely beneficial for Texas to have him back in action.
Without Watts the secondary struggled against Oklahoma and Houston and the unit looked like what Texas fans have watched a lot of in recent years. A lot of that is from poor communication and getting a veteran like Watts back should help. Texas’ opponents have been feasting off of the Texas defense with crossing routes. Watts brings the physicality that has been missing and he can set the tone early on one of those crossing routes. Forcing a turnover or two on defense can help out a young quarterback like Murphy a ton.
Xavier Worthy’s Reemergence
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been an impact player for three years now but he has yet to emerge this season as the playmaker he is. Worthy is having a solid year with 545 yards receiving and four touchdowns, but he has not had that huge game he’s been known for yet and has just one game with over 100 yards.
Worthy is being double teamed and facing plenty of bracket coverage. With Ewers out, Steve Sarkisian needs to scheme Worthy open regardless of the coverage he faces. Sark is very capable of that as he’s shown with Worthy in the past and Devonta Smith at Alabama previously. If Murphy can count on Worthy to make big plays for him that will give the young quarterback a lot of confidence.
The Offensive Line Needs to Hold Their Own
The Oklahoma game was what many would call the only bad game this year for the Texas offensive line. Yhey have played very well and are probably the best as a unit since the 2008 season, so there are a lot of positives to this group. They are fairly young and lost center Jake Majors early against Oklahoma, which did not help Texas’ offensive efforts. The run game has been better than many thought after losing Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson and the offensive line should get some credit for the success of Jonathon Brooks and CJ Baxter.
With Ewers out the offensive line needs to tighten up the pass protection. Maalik Murphy does not have the mobility that Ewers had which will manifest itself if the line struggles. Ewers evaded a lot of pressure this year and Murphy likely will not be able to do that. Murphy will need more help with identifying defenses and will rely on his front five more than a more experienced Ewers ahd to. The worst thing for a young quarterback’s confidence is facing a lot of pressure. No doubt BYU will bring looks that Maalik hasn’t seen and the offensive line will need to play up to their abilities. The Longhorns’ offensive line will go a long way in determining who wins on Saturday and moving forward without Ewers.
