Steve Sarkisian assesses the connection between Quinn Ewers, Xavier Worthy

Texas defeated Kansas State 34-27 on Saturday, in large part due to the strong connection between quarterback Quinn Ewers and wide receiver Xavier Worthy. That connection is one that greatly impressed Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.

In the victory, Ewers was 18-of-31 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those touchdowns went to Worthy, who had four total catches for 42 yards on the day.

The connection is nothing new for Texas, and Sarkisian had high praise for both Ewers and Worthy after their performance over the weekend.

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“I thought they were great, they really were,” Sarkisian said of Ewers and Worthy. “We’re gonna continue to take our shots. We missed a couple, that’s okay. But if we’re gonna run the ball like that, you’ve got to be able to play action pass and take your shots and that was fine. But what Xavier’s doing, I feel bad that sometimes we probably don’t give it enough credit. This guy, in 21 games he has 21 touchdown catches, which is crazy to think in two years that a guy is doing that at the wide receiver position.

“I think that connection between those two guys was on point today. As I said, it was unfortunate that X had the fumble on the one third down. But I thought Quinn rebounded well. This is a tough environment, the conditions were not ideal. It was definitely windy, it was cool. So I think definitely something to build upon.”

Both Ewers, Worthy are having strong seasons for Texas

In his first year with the Longhorns, Ewers has impressed. He’s missed time with injury, but he has been a difference maker while on the field. On the year, Ewers has completed 57.8% of his pass attempts for 1,336 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Worthy has produced regardless of who’s at quarterback for Texas, as he has 40 receptions for 552 yards and nine touchdowns thus far on the season. He is coming off of an impressive 2021 campaign which saw him grab 62 catches for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns, meaning that he has 21 scores on his career as Sarkisian noted.

Texas is now 6-3 on the season and 4-2 against Big 12 opponents. The Longhorns are in a good position in the Big 12, and face off against TCU on Saturday in a pivotal showdown. Texas is up to No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.