As the varsity prepares for its annual Purple River Rivalry sport towards Oklahoma on Saturday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced on Thursday that quarterback Quinn Ewers will probably be returning to the beginning lineup for the Longhorns this weekend.
For Ewers, will probably be his first time again on the sector for Texas since suffering an abdomen injury in the midst of the varsity’s 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14. Earlier than that harm, the Longhorns junior quarterback was enjoying 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 amazing 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 probably be hoping Ewers can choose up proper the place he left off and assist the varsity stay within the No. 1 spot within the AP Prime-25 ballot with an undefeated report by getting a victory of their annual rivalry matchup towards Oklahoma.
A win definitely is not going to return straightforward for the Longhorns, as victories usually by no means do on this rivalry that has been going down since 1903.
The Sooners enter the matchup ranked No. 18 with a 4-1 report. After struggling a tricky loss to Tennessee three weeks in the past, Oklahoma was capable of get issues again on observe throughout the college’s following sport once they emerged from a highway matchup towards Auburn with a 27-21 victory.
The win over the Tigers was additional notable for the Sooners, because it occurred with the varsity starting a true freshman, Michael Hawkins Jr., at quarterback for the primary time this season. Hawkins will probably be making his second begin of the 12 months towards Texas on Saturday.
Fortunately for Ewers, he has the advantage of the Longhorns having among the best defenses within the nation this season. The college has solely allowed an average of seven points per matchup, which at present ranks second amongst FBS colleges.
So, if Ewers is a bit rusty in his first sport again, there is a good likelihood that Texas’s protection will be capable of provide you with sufficient performs to assist the group stroll off the sector with a giant victory over Oklahoma.