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Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers faces a tough test in the Texas OU game

Posted on by Kennedy
Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers faces a tough test in the Texas OU game

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As expected, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that Quinn Ewers will start at quarterback Saturday against Oklahoma after missing the last two and a half games with an abdominal strain.

But Ewers won't get a chance to get back into contention with a challenging matchup against top-ranked Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) in the Cotton Bowl. The No. 16 Sooners (4-1, 1-1) have struggled on offense but have a strong defense fueled by their pass rush. Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally with 3.6 sacks per game and fourth in the country with 13 takeaways.

These two statistics go hand in hand, Sarkisian said during his weekly Zoom meeting with the media.

“They do a heck of a job at getting to the quarterback and so they do a great job at creating chaos, which I think leads to the opportunistic defense that they have where They cause ball losses,” he said.

A Red River Rivalry chess set on the sidelines

Sarkisian has often competed over the years with Oklahoma's Brett Venables, a longtime defensive coordinator who took over the Sooners program in 2022. They have faced off twice as head coaches in the Red River Rivalry, and they met once when Sarkisian was Alabama's offensive coordinator and Venables was Clemson's defensive coordinator.

“A lot of what they do defensively starts up front, and that's kind of been a staple of coach Venables' defense over the years,” Sarkisian said. “No matter what school he went to, it always started at the beginning. This group isn't much different. They do a great job of creating pressure internally. They do a good job coming off the edge. They do a good job with their print packages and a variety of them that they have. Their work is complex and we know we have a lot of work ahead of us this week.”

Texas appears to have the right players up front to get the job done. Led by All-American candidate Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle, the Longhorns are allowing an average of just one sack per game. That's good news for Ewers, who has missed at least two games in each of his three seasons as a starter.

More: Texas football: 20 years after 2004 shutdown, Horns have new Oklahoma problem to solve | Golden

Steve Sarkisian: Quinn Ewers is not injury prone

Those missed games don't mean Ewers is more susceptible to injuries than other quarterbacks, Sarkisian emphasized.

“I don’t necessarily believe that,” he said. “Sometimes injuries happen because they happen, you know? I mean, if someone gets hit in the shoulder, there's a pretty good chance. No matter who you are, your shoulder will probably be sore to some degree. Or if you hit a pole and your collarbone bursts.”

Sarkisian said an injury history shouldn't affect Ewers if he enters the NFL draft, which he is expected to do after this season. Sarkisian, who spent three seasons coaching in the NFL, says injuries to quarterbacks are simply a fact of life. He mentioned a shoulder sprain that limited Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts last season, as well as a recent abdominal strain that will likely sideline the New Orleans Saints' Derek Carr for a few weeks.

Ewers suffered similar injuries the past two seasons and has returned to playing effective football, Sarkisian said.

“Quinn has shown over his time that he is committed after injury, comes back and plays really good football after injury,” Sarkisian said. To me, this (week) is another chance for him to show he can do it.”

More: Where does the Red River rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma rank among the biggest games in the SEC?

Newcomer Michael Kern is questionable

Freshman Michael Kern made a surprise appearance on the Longhorns' injury report on Wednesday with a questionable day. He impressed in limited opportunities, averaging 42.8 yards on 11 punts and placing four of those punts inside the 20-yard line. He forced punt returners into five fair catches and didn't have a touchback. He also handles stopping duties on extra points and field goals.

Sarkisian said Ian Ratliff will serve as both punter and holder if Kern is unable to play. Ratliff is a sophomore from Humble, a suburb of Houston, and has never played in a college game. He earned all-district honors as a punter and kicker at Humble Atascocita.

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