On3 Roundtable: What Quinn Ewers must do to lead Texas to victory over Alabama

One of the most highly anticipated games of the 2023 college football season comes early in Week 2, as the Texas Longhorns will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. Last year’s star-studded matchup didn’t disappoint in Austin, but will the sequel live up to the hype?

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will be an impact player in this matchup entering his second season under center for the Longhorns. And as part of a recent On3 Roundtable discussion, JD PicKell spoke with Bama Online‘s Tim Watts and Inside Texas‘ Bobby Burton about what Ewers will need to do to help the Longhorns leave Bryant-Denny Stadium with a win.

“I think the most important stat line is going to be no turnovers,” Burton said. “You can’t go into Tuscaloosa and turn the ball over early in the game and expect to mount any kind of comeback.”

Neither team in last season’s matchup turned the ball over at all, but Ewers did exit the game early after suffering a shoulder injury in the first quarter. Backup quarterback Hudson Card took over the reins of the offense and led the team to a closely contested 20-19 loss, but if Ewers can be efficient in this year’s matchup, Burton believes it can propel Texas to a major win.

“If Quinn Ewers has a productive 25 of 35, 25 of 38 type game with no turnovers, touchdowns doesn’t really matter I don’t think, I think that’s either going to come through short yardage or big plays. Those sorts of things just happen,” Burton explained.

Ewers was fairly efficient last season in his first year as a full-time collegiate starter, throwing for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just six interceptions, half of which came in his poor performance versus Oklahoma State. He was named honorable mention Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2022 and is now surrounded by even more pass catching weapons than a season ago.

This Texas team has all the makings of achieving similar success that they’ve seen in seasons like 2018 and maybe even 2009, and Burton thinks that not just an efficient Week 2 performance, but an efficient season out of Ewers could take the Longhorns to new heights.

“It’s more important for me for him to be productive and not turn the ball over. Texas gets a productive Quinn Ewers in 2023, they’re going to be the favorites in the Big 12 no doubt,” Burton said.