After a few weeks of hardship, Texas once again proved itself with a substantial 49-17 win over Florida. With offensive inconsistencies that appeared in weeks past such as interceptions, weak quarterback protection and excessive penalties nowhere to be found, Texas looks back in rhythm with just three games left in the regular season.
“For our players and our team, (that) was probably our most complete game as a football team,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said.
In the first half alone, junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, who for the past few weeks has claimed to be “rusty,” threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Matthew Golden accumulated two touchdowns with 64 receiving yards. Junior running back Jaydon Blue had an impressive game with 67 receiving yards and one rushing touchdown. Senior tight end Gunnar Helm, junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond and sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner were also each able to take one of Ewers’ passes to the endzone. Freshman running back Jerrick Gibson also had a stellar running game with one touchdown and led the team with 100 yards. Despite success from the entire offense, Golden acknowledges Ewers’ leadership and ability to carry out plays.
“The sky’s the limit, you know, having Quinn (Ewers) and having the O-line,” Golden said. “Quinn, I mean, it ain’t nothing he can’t do, so I appreciate him more than anything.”
Something that really stood out in this matchup was the offensive play calling on the Longhorn sideline. The Texas staff utilized misdirection and unlike the last few games this season, Texas’ vertical passing game was a substantial aspect of the offense’s success, accumulating 12 plays for over 20 yards. For example, a fake end around followed by a fake counter, to a real end around hand off to Bond left him open for a 44-yard rush, proving that even Sarkisian had found the offensive mojo that he was looking for earlier this week.
“Sometimes it’s throwing mud on a wall and seeing what sticks,” Sarkisian said about Bond’s play. “And we ran it in practice and we’re like, ‘Wow that looked way better than we probably thought that was going to work.’”
On the other side of the ball, Texas’ defense continued to show its dominance, earning its right to the title of the No.1 ranked defense in the country. The defense gave away no points in the first half, caught two interceptions from Florida’s redshirt freshman quarterback Aidan Warner and had a fumble recovery. The Longhorns also excelled in tackles, holding 71 total and 35 solo tackles.
The secondary specifically held tight pressure on the Gators’ receiving players, shutting down a majority of their passing game. Warner went 12-25 for completion attempts with 132 yards.
Besides yet another win under Texas’ belt, the Longhorns gained something else along with their confidence.
“It does a lot for the confidence, for sure,” Ewers said. “I mean, going out there and executing the way we did as a whole, who wouldn’t be confident after that performance?”
