No. 1 Texas Dominates Oklahoma as Fans Reignite Quinn Ewers-Arch Manning QB1 Debate

Julia StumbaughOctober 12, 2024

Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Quinn Ewers led No. 1 Texas to a 34-3 victory over No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday in his return from an oblique injury.

Ewers spent the last two weeks on the sidelines watching redshirt freshman Arch Manning start in his place. That rust showed as Ewers was picked off by Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. on the game’s opening drive.

Oklahoma Football @OU_FootballSet the tone @Billy2Bowman 😤 pic.twitter.com/2WJBXVimhs

Ewers passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the win, but his hesitance early in the game led some fans to express concerns about his performance.

Cedric Golden @CedGoldenThe Texas run game and defense have owned the day. Horns are comfortably ahead on a day when Quinn Ewers has been serviceable but not great.

Wescott Eberts @SBN_WescottBetween the time off and the apparent lingering impact of the oblique strain, Quinn Ewers’ footwork has regressed to 2022 levels here today.

Ewers seemed to settle in later in the outing as he set up a scoring drive before running in a touchdown during the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.

Texas Football @TexasFootballNO WAY 😱@QuinnEwers ➡️ @MatthewGolden_2 ➡️ @gunnar_helm pic.twitter.com/nvsEsFJjsE

Texas Football @TexasFootballFIRE US UP 3️⃣@QuinnEwers pic.twitter.com/RYJv3O0v3U

Ryan Hernandez @_iamryanleeThis is why Ewers is still QB1 😎 https://t.co/je8tVtmNSV

Eddie @eddiegaray14Quinn Ewers is still the QB to lead us to a national championship.

Fans hadn’t forgotten about Manning, however.

In two starts made in Ewers’ absence, the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning had gone 41-for-60 with two interceptions and four touchdowns, while adding another touchdown on the ground— and some Texas fans were hoping to see him play again on Saturday.

Nate Livesay @natelivesayIf Arch Manning was playing Texas would be up 42-3.

Trying not to overreact to 2 bad games @bseballguruEwer’s not doing much to quiet the Arch Manning supporters

Beto Ochoa @Beto_In_AustinAfter this terrible performance by Quinn Ewers there is officially a quarterback controversy.

Brandon Taylor @YuGiOhFan2023Arch Manning is on his feet, ready to go in… all I can say is, it’s about time. #RedRiverRivalry #TEXvsOU

Ewers previously went 58-of-79 for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two picks in his first four starts for the Longhorns this season.

His struggles early against Oklahoma led some fans to doubt he would find similar success in the toughest matchup of the season so far, which is coming up next Saturday against No. 5 Georgia.

Georgia could improve to 5-1 on the season with a win over Mississippi State on Saturday.

YeahI SaidIt @Major_ThoughtsVery disappointed in how Quinn Ewers performed against Oklahoma. The offense wasn’t dominant. I’m not convinced Texas can beat Georgia next week.

Ungzabo Brujo @UngzaboBQuinn Ewers still looks mega out of sync. He seems half a second to a second slow on all his reads.

I don’t know if he is right yet physically or he is just rusty, but Texas isn’t beating Georgia next week if Quinn plays this poorly next week.

Other fans expressed confidence Texas’ QB1 will have finished readjusting to game speed by the time the team returns to Austin to face the Bulldogs next weekend.

Shahnavaz Makhani @MrMakhaniQuinn Ewers after his first drive: 13-16, 122 yards and a TD.

Quiet the Arch talk.

Brad Townsend @townbradProbably disrespectful to call OU a warmup opponent, but it would be a major plus for Texas if Ewers knocks the rust off before next week’s home showdown against Georgia.

Hart Pisani @hpisani91Impressed by Quinn Ewers settling in after an awful start. That’s critical with Georgia on the horizon. The run game seems to be getting going for the Longhorns as well

The Longhorns improved to 6-0 on the season with the win, but the debate over who should serve as QB1 looks set to continue next weekend as Texas prepares to face Carson Beck at home.