Stormy weather is in the forecast for Texas in the aftermath of the Quinn Ewers injury and a stretch of formidable games looming on the horizon. The Longhorns are locked in a four-team traffic jam for second place in the Big 12 standings with a 3-1 conference record. Keeping pace with the leaders becomes even more challenging as Texas looks to a pair of freshmen quarterbacks to get the job done. Redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy and true freshman Arch Manning are next up on the depth chart.
Hazardous conditions are ahead. Texas (6-1, 3-1) remains tied in the conference standings with Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State heading into the final weekend of October. There are five games left to play in the regular season, so the margin for error is quickly vanishing. Next in line for the Longhorns is BYU (5-2, 2-2). The BYU Cougars are an upgrade in competition compared to Houston, which played Texas down to the wire last week before the Longhorns prevailed, 31-24. Ewers sprained his shoulder and Murphy played almost the entire fourth quarter, completing 1 of 2 passes for 7 yards while the running backs took over.
The strength of BYU is its defense. That’s not good news for Texas as it warms up two untested freshmen for a pivotal game. The Longhorns have been sporadic on offense, even with Ewers at the wheel. With Ewers out of commission, Murphy appears to be his replacement although there are questions about that as well. Now that the Texas quarterback picture is as murky as it can be, how do the Longhorns match up against the Cougars?
Will Ewers Injury Stall Texas?
Pump The Brakes
Okay, let’s hold tight for a moment. Is Murphy ready to go from a health perspective? Texas is known for guarding its injury report better than most governments guard state secrets. It also has a rabid fanbase and an overflow of “insiders” that keep the program under constant scrutiny. Very little happens on the Forty Acres that goes unnoticed. Even the FOX Sports announcers mentioned during the Houston game that Manning had been taking second-team reps recently because of an indeterminate matter having to do with Murphy’s health. So, what’s the story?
Murphy has a history of injuries dating back to his prep career in California. Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian limited him to three passes last week against Houston. Did that reflect a lack of confidence in Murphy’s ability to jump into the fray late in the game with everything on the line, or is he nursing an injury only the coaches and trainers know about? Either way, it seems Texas fans are going to get their first good look at Murphy since the spring game. And let’s be clear: Nobody here is throwing shade at Murphy. We’ve been touting his potential since April.
Maintain Your Lane
The safest path ahead for Texas is to hand the ball off to Jonathon Brooks and let him do his thing. He averages just over 18 carries a game and was the Big 12’s leading rusher in total yards through seven games this season. It seems reasonable to give BYU a heavy dose of Brooks and see if the Cougars can stop him.
It’s also the most obvious course of action, and one that BYU can see coming from a mile away. The Cougars have a defense under first-year coordinator Jay Hill that forces turnovers at a staggering level. They are among the FBS elite with 11 interceptions and 16 turnovers in total. Expect Hill to draw up a scheme that limits Brooks and forces Texas to rely on its passing game. BYU is adept at executing a 4-2-5 defense under Hill, and that could spell trouble for any young quarterback with so much traffic in the secondary.
The Path Of Least Resistance
Texas has plenty of horsepower on offense even with the Ewers injury. The skill positions are stocked with proven players. Murphy and Manning were among the most highly-rated quarterbacks coming out of high school in the last two years. They will get loads of support from teammates. “You’re only as good as the guys around you,” Sarkisian said at his regular Monday press conference after the Houston game.
BYU must figure out a way to make life uncomfortable for the quarterbacks. The Cougars benefit from having two of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12. Jakob Robinson has four interceptions and Eddie Heckard has three. The BYU corners are as experienced as they come. Robinson has 18 career starts, and Heckard has started 47 games in a career that began in 2017 at Weber State. Whatever the Texas offense dials up in its passing game, these two have already seen it before.
Get The Big Picture
The Longhorns remain highly regarded despite the Ewers injury. How does Texas lose its starting quarterback and still open the week favored by 17 points against BYU? Oh, that’s right, because it’s Texas. The roster is loaded with talent and, as any Longhorns fan will tell you, the quarterback should not matter all that much. Don’t forget it was Sarkisian who came to Texas with the “all gas, no brakes” motto in the first place.
Every team is playing with injuries at this point. The Longhorns can rally behind their young quarterbacks and hopefully get Ewers back in a few weeks. Sarkisian said as much during his press conference. Don’t be surprised to see Murphy and Manning in action against BYU. “Arch and Maalik will both get a ton of reps (in practice this week),” Sarkisian told the media. “Arch will be ready to go.”
Grab The Wheel And Go
Youth and inexperience will be in control of the Texas offense no matter who Sarkisian sends onto the field against BYU. You would have to be living under a rock to not hear the buzz coming from casual fans and the media about Arch Manning. But a win on the heels of the Ewers injury would more likely be the result of a team effort rather than a new starter lighting it up all by himself.
The upside for Texas fans is that their team is guaranteed to be laser-focused on BYU and nothing else. Sarkisian’s deep history with the Cougars program makes for an interesting storyline as well. Texas is a team at a crossroads right now and the head coach knows it. The game plan will be tailored this week to accommodate the young quarterbacks. “They don’t have to run the whole playbook,” Sarkisian said. “They need to run what they run really well.”
