Texas Football: 4 takeaways from Horns heart-pumping OT win vs. K-State

Texas needs Quinn Ewers back ASAP

Among the biggest reasons why Ewers is so valuable for the Longhorns this season is his ability to not only make timely and quality throws but also take good care of the football. Ewers tossed just three picks in eight starts before going down with the shoulder injury against Houston in Week 8.

Ewers was fantastic for the Longhorns until he went down with the shoulder injury in Week 8. He played at an All-Big 12 level while leading Texas to a 5-1 start, including two wins over top 25 foes in Kansas Week 3 and the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on the road in Week 2.

Moreover, while Sark and the Longhorns have plenty of talent in the quarterback room outside of Ewers, Murphy, and true freshman Arch Manning don’t have the live-game reps in these critical situations in conference play. Murphy has flashed his talent at times in the last two games against BYU and Kansas State.

But it is clear that the better the Longhorns can get Ewers back from the shoulder injury the better. The good news is that Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports reported before kickoff between Texas and Kansas State on Nov. 4 that there is optimism that the Longhorns can get Ewers back either for the TCU game on Nov. 11 or against Iowa State in Ames on Nov. 18.

The biggest storyline for the Longhorns in the next week will easily be Ewers’ injury status after Murphy struggled mightily in the final 45 minutes of this game.