Look, I'm just going to say the quiet part out loud ...
Quinn Ewers needs to stay another year.
I know that's not likely what anyone close to Ewers wants to hear because there's been a sense all season that he's 100-percent headed to the NFL after this season.
I also know it would complicate the Texas quarterback situation moving forward, as it's hard to believe that Maalik Murphy would hang around for another year as the back-up quarterback, just so that he could fight Arch Manning for the No. 1 job when the former No. 1 overall player in the country is heading into his third season.
Yes, it'll be a little messy for everyone involved, but as Ewers prepares to make his return from injury this week in hopes of getting on the field this weekend against TCU, these things seem pretty obvious to the naked eye.
a. He's had a very good season, but certainly not a great season, even when he has been healthy. While he's currently in the midst of the second-best passing efficiency season in the history of the Texas program, there's still a lot of room for improvement.
b. Ewers has yet to truly prove he is physically ready for the league. This most recent injury means that he's been knocked out of action twice in two seasons and questions have emerged about just how physically ready he is for the rough and tumble world of the NFL.
c. It's far from a sure thing that he'll be drafted in the first round if he comes out. It's a deep quarterback draft and for all of the arm talent that he possesses, he's an undersized player that hasn't been able to consistently stay on the field and he's only been a pretty good player when he's been on it.
In a recent update of its NFL rankings for the 2024 Draft, Pro Football Focus recently ranked him as the No. 70 overall prospect in the entire draft, while slotting him in as the 10th-ranked quarterback on its list.
"Ewers will be a hot name in this quarterback class due to his arm talent, as he has the tools to make all sorts of NFL throws," PFF says of Ewers. "He has an unorthodox but quick release where the ball can fire off his wrist to the target. However, his deep ball accuracy and general ball placement skills need more consistency if he is to be a reliable NFL starter.”
Did you detect any lies in that breakdown?
Meanwhile, Ewers’ return in 2024 would also mean that the Longhorns would be returning their starting quarterback in 2024 in their first season in the SEC, instead of breaking in raw and inexperienced players at the most important position in the sport. Considering the amount of talent that could leave the program following this season, that feels like a major win.
Whatever flaws exist in Ewers, no one can make an overly strong case that the Longhorns would be better without Ewers in 2024.
Might he be a first-round pick if he comes out following this season? Maybe. Is it a sure thing? No way.
Honestly, this shouldn't be a difficult call, barring Ewers coming back this season and setting the world on fire in the final weeks of the season in a way that we haven't really seen so far.
It might not be a decision that makes everyone happy, but the correct decisions in life aren't always ones that produce smiles.
Sometimes the best you can do is make a decision that doesn't leave you eventually crying.
I'm not saying that him coming out early would definitely produce tears, but it's certainly possible.
No. 2 - The Big 12 title race takes shape ...
And then there was Texas and .... Oklahoma State?
It sure feels that way coming out of a weekend where the number of one-loss teams went from five to two in the span of about 10 hours.
Suddenly, the Longhorns and Cowboys simply need to win their remaining games to secure spots in the Big 12 Championship game, while the likes of Oklahoma, Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State need to cross their fingers and hope for a few bounces to go their way.
With tie-breaker advantages over the Sooners, Jayhawks and Wildcats, Oklahoma State feels like it has one foot in the championship game, especially with a buttery-soft remaining schedule against three new teams to the Big 12.
Texas merely needs to win its final three games against teams that it will be favored to defeat. Nothing can be taken for granted to say the least, but the Longhorns can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Considering the remaining obstacles, tripping over any of the remaining hurdles would represent a massive disappointment.
It's there for the taking. Just take it.
No. 3 - The secondary issues ...
With three regular season games to go, I'm not sure that there's much the Longhorns can do to radically improve the concerns that exist in the pass defense.
What I can tell you is that the remaining schedule is not full of players on paper that should serve as high-level problems. Take a look at the remaining quarterbacks on the ledger ...
TCU - Josh Hoover (120.3 efficiency rating - 10th in the Big 12)
Iowa State - Rocco Becht (134.4 efficiency rating - 7th in the Big 12)
Texas Tech - Behren Morton (133.7 efficiency rating)
Should the Longhorns face off with Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, they’ll face off with Alan Bowman, who ranks 11th in the Big 12 with a 120.2 efficiency rating.
There's not a single quarterback of real significance left on the schedule on paper. What's the opposite of a Murderer's Row?
Murdered Row?
No. 4 - More Texas/KSU randomness ...
... Steve Sarkisian simply must figure out the issues the team currently has with starting really fast and then turning into Cinderella when the clock strikes midnight in the second quarter of games. This game against KSU made three straight weeks that the team has looked sensational through the first quarter, only to find itself stuck in the mud for much of the remaining 45 minutes of the game. In two of the three games, the Longhorns have been left holding on for dear life. If you end up in that situation too many times, you're eventually going to fall.
... Retire the Savion Red package. Full stop.
... Xavier Worthy has been targeted 25 times in the last two weeks with Maalik Murphy at quarterback and he's caught 9 passes for 75 yards in the process. Not good, Bob.
... Ja'Tavion Sanders was targeted more than six times in the passing game three times in the first four games of the season. In the last five games, he hasn't been targeted that many times at all. In fact, he's been targeted only five times once in the last five games and he's been targeted only four times in two of the last five games. In those five games, he's caught only 10 passes for 120 yards and zero touchdowns. It's kind of a strange world we live in when Savion Red has become a bigger piece of the offense than Sanders.
... I thought Cam Williams was excellent for long stretches of the game on Saturday when he wasn't committing procedure penalties. He certainly wasn't responsible for any major gaffes.
... Where would this team be without T'Vondre Sweat? You can absolutely make the case that it would have lost to Kansas State without him.
... Jonathan Brooks remains in the top-5 in the nation in rushing, but he'll have his work cut out for him if he wants to chase down Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon, who might be the leading candidate for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
... Ethan Burke leads the Longhorns with five sacks this season. No other Texas player has more than three. I didn't see that happening before the season started.
... Ryan Sanborn is second in the Big 12 in punting with a 47.5 average, only 0.2 behind Texas Tech's Austin McNamara.
No. 5 - Thoughts on the Final Three Opponents ...
TCU - The Horned Frogs looked like a perfectly average 6-6 type of team in losing to Texas Tech on Thursday night. Josh Hoover will remind you of Maalik Murphy in his ability to go from impressive to WTF from play to play. Only the Longhorns playing well below their level would lead to a close game this weekend.
Iowa State - Although the Cyclones ended up making the Kansas game close, the Jayhawks always looked like the better team ... because the Jayhawks are the better team. I was really unimpressed with ISU Saturday night.
Texas Tech - Tahj Brooks rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries against the Horned Frogs, while Behren Morton probably had his best game of his young career. Both represent the best players at their positions that the Longhorns will face the rest of the way.
No. 6 - If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Washington
5. Florida State
6. Oregon
7. Texas
8. Alabama
9. Penn State
10. Ole Miss
(Heisman Trophy)
1. Michael Penix - QB - Washington
2. Bo Nix. - QB - Oregon
3. Jayden Daniels - QB - LSU
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Perhaps they won't all be masterpieces, but I've got Texas winning the next three.
(Sell) Not if you mean this week. I expect Quinn Ewers to do everything he can to play this week, but if he can't go, it'll be Murphy.
(Buy) Yup, it's sure looking that way.
(Sell) I like the Longhorns to win, but not by that much.
(Buy) Those dudes were just on a different level. They combined for 48 tackles for loss in 1999. T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy have combined for 11.5 this season.
(Buy) Yes, that's what I am expecting.
(Sell) What kind of real progress would it have showed? The game-winning drive was a three-and-out.
(Buy) Big 12 Championship game, anyone?
(Sell) Keep the hope alive. November is always a bit crazy.
(Buy) Yup.
(Buy) Yup.
(Sell) I'll take the under on Worthy punt returns.
(Sell) A Georgia win eliminates Alabama from playoff consideration, while a Bama win would leave UGA very much in the playoff discussion. I'm not sure Texas wants that.
No. 8 - 3 Quick Texas Volleyball Notes ...
a. It was a "ho-hum, handle your business" week for the Longhorns, who went to Morgantown this week and cooked up the Mountaineers like a great squirrel stew in handing them a two-game, six-set sweep. With five individual games to go before the end of the regular season, the Longhorns remain undefeated in Big 12 play at 13-0.
b. The magic number for winning the Big 12 is two. If the Longhorns beat Kansas State on Wednesday, they'll clinch the Big 12 regular-season title if Kansas drops one of its two games against Iowa State. Otherwise, the Longhorns will have to wait until Saturday when they host Cincinnati on Saturday at Gregory Gym.
c. The Longhorns have moved up to No. 4 in the national rankings. With No. 3 Louisville losing on Friday to No. 10 Georgia Tech, it'll be interesting to see if the Longhorns can pass the Cardinals in the ranking, while holding off Stanford, which won its sixth top-10 match-up of the season this weekend in its five-set thriller over Washington State.
No. 9 – Scattershooting on anything and everything …
... Maybe Oklahoma should have waited to celebrate a Super Bowl win until ... well ... they played in a Super Bowl. That reaction (complete with tattoos) feels really silly at the moment.
... Oklahoma State will be a handful in the Big 12 Championship game.
... I really don't know what to do with Michigan at this point. If the Big 10 does nothing with the Wolverines, it could make for an embarrassing situation when the playoff spots are handed out.
... Maybe Caleb Williams would have been better off than to follow Lincoln Riley ...
... Oregon is really, really good.
... Alabama is better right now than Texas is.
... The Aggies are going to finish 7-5 and Jimbo will likely stay IMO.
... Cowboys/Eagles was basically what I expected. Meh.
... CJ Stroud is simply incredible. What a performance. What a game. What a future this kid has.
... I wouldn't say that I hate James Harden, but I definitely never want to see him achieve any future success.
... I'm not really ready for the NBA Cup.
... Liverpool's draw against Luton Town basically ruined my weekend.
No. 10 - The List: Aerosmith ...
Honorable mention: Last Child, Mama Kin, Cryin, Dude (Looks Like a Lady) and Livin' on the Edge
10. Seasons of Wither
An under the radar classic from the band's earliest years.
9. Love in an Elevator
Of all of their biggest hits in the second chapter of the band's career, this song might be the closest to something they would have released in the 70s.
8. Come Together
This 1978 cover of the Beatles' classic is probably my favorite cover of this song.
7. Angel
The second-highest charting single of the band's entire catalog of songs.
6. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
You don't have to love this song, but you do have to respect the success of it.
5. Janie's Got a Gun
It's about as dark as an Aerosmith song gets and to be fair ... it's pretty dark.
4. Walk This Way
The version with Run-DMC arguably saved the band's career when it was re-released in the mid-80s.
3. What it Takes
This might be a little high for some of you, but it's probably my low-key favorite Aerosmith song. Don't @ me.
2. Sweet Emotion
The band's first top 40 song is about Joe Perry's ex-wife, whom Steven Tyler loathed. You gotta love bands.
1. Dream on
This is a slam-dunk, no-doubt-about-it selection for the top spot. There is no other No. 1 option, so just save it.
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