If you had told me in the middle of the summer that Duke would be 2-0 and Alabama would be 1-1 going into week 3, I wouldn’t have believed you. That is the exact situation in which the college football world finds itself. Following the 34-24 loss at home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama has fallen to number 10 in the recent playoff poll. The disappointment to the start of the Tide’s season has been substantial, but there is another football program in Austin, Texas that feels like this could be the start of something great.
That’s right, the Texas Longhorns are feeling pretty good about their recent launch to the number 4 spot in the polls. The Longhorns are the program that Bama has to thank for their 1-1 start. So far, it looks like Texas has made a speedy turnaround from last year’s loss to Washington in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Quinn Ewers is the player most responsible for the Longhorns turnaround. As most people will tell you, football is a quarterback’s game. Ewers has had a pair of solid starts this season.
His start in week 1 against Rice was about as solid as it gets. He passed for 260 yards and completed 63.3% of his passes, including 3 touchdowns. His passer rating in that game was 169.1. These are some pretty good numbers, but the biggest number was the win. As big a win as the Rice game was, Texas knew they had to face Bama in Tuscaloosa. A daunting task to say the least.
Ewers stepped up in a big way against Alabama. He passed for 349 yards, 3 touchdowns and a passer rating of 166.4. The most important number Longhorns fans saw he had on Saturday was the 34 points he helped put on the board. Getting a road win in college football is a big deal. Getting a road win in Tuscaloosa is a huge deal. This is a big win Texas can live off of for a while. However, Quinn Ewers is here to stay. Because of that, College football fans this season can expect Texas to be one of the top teams. Texas has an easy week this Saturday. Wyoming will be in Austin playing the Longhorns. It is a big test for Quinn Ewers. Good quarterbacks win games they should. Great quarterbacks blow out teams they should.
by Ollie Hammonds
