2 ways Steve Sarkisian can attack Georgia's defense

Intermediate passing game off play action and RPOs

A major component to this game for the Longhorns will the Ewers' ability to hang back in the pocket and get his throws off fundamentally and on-time to his receivers when they're open on intermediate and deep pass attempts.

I'd expect Sarkisian and the Longhorns to try to set the tone with the ground game, especially if Georgia plays with a light box to try and stop Ewers from getting the ball out to the multitude of playmakers Texas has on the outside in the receiving corps. If Texas establishes a solid ground game with running backs Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue, the play action and RPO passing game should open up for Ewers and the offense for the Longhorns.

It was a big issue for Texas's offense in the first half last weekend in the dominant win over the Sooners in Red River for Ewers to hit open receivers in the intermediate passing game. This was to be expected, though, with Ewers returning to his first start in nearly a full month's time from the abdominal strain injury he suffered in the non-con against UTSA.

If Ewers looks more like the version of himself that he did against Michigan in Week 2, or in the big road win last season over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Texas will be fine on offense.

Ewers really hasn't had any issues in the past couple of seasons rising up to the occasion for these big games. I think he will be ready to go at home for the Georgia game this weekend.

Georgia's defense can be prone to getting hit on intermediate and short passes out near the boundary on out patterns and outside curl routes. Mississippi State and Alabama both found success in the RPO passing games against Georgia, largely thanks to both teams having dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in Van Buren and Milroe.

I get it that Ewers doesn't have the same dual-threat ability, especially coming off the injury from a few weeks ago, as those other SEC QBs Georgia recently faced on defense.

Georgia's pass defense ranks second-from-the-bottom in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game in conference play vs. RPO and play-action passes (per SIS Data Hub).

But Texas can still utilize different motion, screens, and RPOs to get Ewers out of the pocket and make big throws to open targets in the short and intermediate passing game, to take advantage of one aspect of Georgia's pass defense that has been a struggle at times against Alabama and MSU in SEC play this season.

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