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Quinn Ewers led No. 1 Texas to a 34-3 victory over No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday in his return from an oblique injury.
Ewers spent the last two weeks on the sidelines watching redshirt freshman Arch Manning start in his place. That rust showed as Ewers was picked off by Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. on the game’s opening drive.
Ewers passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the win, but his hesitance early in the game led some fans to express concerns about his performance.
Ewers seemed to settle in later in the outing as he set up a scoring drive before running in a touchdown during the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
Fans hadn’t forgotten about Manning, however.
In two starts made in Ewers’ absence, the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning had gone 41-for-60 with two interceptions and four touchdowns, while adding another touchdown on the ground— and some Texas fans were hoping to see him play again on Saturday.
Brandon Taylor @YuGiOhFan2023
Arch Manning is on his feet, ready to go in… all I can say is, it’s about time. #RedRiverRivalry #TEXvsOU
Ewers previously went 58-of-79 for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two picks in his first four starts for the Longhorns this season.
His struggles early against Oklahoma led some fans to doubt he would find similar success in the toughest matchup of the season so far, which is coming up next Saturday against No. 5 Georgia.
Georgia could improve to 5-1 on the season with a win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
Other fans expressed confidence Texas’ QB1 will have finished readjusting to game speed by the time the team returns to Austin to face the Bulldogs next weekend.
The Longhorns improved to 6-0 on the season with the win, but the debate over who should serve as QB1 looks set to continue next weekend as Texas prepares to face Carson Beck at home.
