It feels like Saturday's performance against Rice comes down to a matter of perspective.
If you came into the season thinking 11-1 or 12-0, along with a spot in the playoff, you probably walked away a little spooked by how far away Texas looked from those lofty projections in a few very important areas.
However, if you came into the season thinking 9-3 or maaaaybe 10-2, along with a real shot at playing in the Big 12 championship game, you probably walked away feeling a little vindicated over not drinking so much burnt orange Kool-aid that you ignored a couple of obvious potential problem areas on the team.
The 2023 Texas Longhorns are still a major work in progress.
Surprise!
Maybe what happened on Saturday is exactly what was needed to get everyone on the same page with regards to what still needs to happen with this team before it truly is ready for prime time (No, I'm not talking about Deion's Buffs, but hey, them, too).
Let's just address the elephant in the room ... Quinn Ewers.
(Ewers' passing chart via Rice via @PFF)
Overall, I thought Ewers had a B+ kind of game. You can say he didn't pass the eyeball test, but he combined for four touchdowns, finished with the third best passer rating of his career (better than his 2022 Alabama performance) and didn't commit a single turnover. There really were some positives, you Negative Nancies!
The areas of concern, though, are obvious and are an extension to a few of the areas of concern from a season ago.
a. He's a middle of the field to the left side of the field thrower, who does most of his damage 0-20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He finished 3 of 6 passing to the right side of the field, while he completed 17 of 22 in the short- and intermediate-areas in the part of the in which he's most comfortable.
It should be noted that going 2 for 2 to the right-sided intermediate throws was also a very positive little development inside his performance.
b. His work as a deep ball thrower is still a major work in progress. I'm less worried about the incompletions than I am about the fact that it really didn't feel like any of his deep balls were close to acceptable. Frankly, everyone needs to stop making excuses for how poorly he continued to be in this area. Going back to last season, he has receivers running free down the field just begging to be hit in stride and he simply struggles making those connections.
I would offer that now isn't the time to panic. It's just week one. By the end of the season, we might chuckle at the hot takes on this subject like we laugh at the hot takes after week one from last season when Jaylan Ford didn't make the stat sheet and there were concerns from some (yours truly, among them) that he might not be ready to take the next jump in his development.
While patience continues to be required, we also can't pretend that Ewers' deep passing game struggles aren't a big deal because in reality it's holding the offense hostage in a way that will be problematic if improvement isn't made by the time tougher challenges on the schedule arrive.
Yes, I'm talking about next week.
Moving forward, Ewers has to make continued improvement. There's no need to flip out about it. It is what it is. How well progress is made in the areas Ewers needs to improve in could very well define the season.
Of course, there's another area of concern that isn't related to Ewers that could prove to also be season-defining.
No. 2 - Left Guard/Center/Right Guard ...
The players residing in the interior of the Alabama defensive line will be licking their lips upon watching the Texas film from Saturday.
How could they not?
Against a Rice Owls' squad that was playing with players that wouldn't make Alabama's four-deep, the Longhorns had a hard time controlling the line of scrimmage and struggled when the Owls mixed up their stunts or brought added pressure with an extra rusher.
There seemed to be a feeling from many that the Texas offensive line would be better this season than last because the group was a year older. But, better than what, exactly? The Texas running game last season wasn't a success because of plus-line play as much as it was a success because of 2 of the best 4 running backs of the last decade in college football when it comes to missed tackles per touch and yards after contact were on the roster.
So, what happens when you take Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson out of the equation?
Well, the Alamo Bowl game was a hint. Yesterday proved to be another. The middle of the Texas offensive line is a problem until it proves it isn't.
New starting right guard D.J. Campbell played poorly enough that he absolutely would have been replaced yesterday if Cole Hutson had been judged fit to play. Yet, the staff played Campbell as the starter over Hutson throughout camp because it judged Campbell as the superior player. Whatever Hutson is right now when healthy isn't a player the staff believes is better than Campbell.
When you add in the fact that starting left guard Hayden Conner and center Jake Majors aren't plus-college players yet and you've got an area of the team that finds itself in trouble when matched up against plus-interior players.
It remains to be seen just how much progress in this area will be made over the course of a 12-game season, but a lot of progress needs to be made. Duh.
As it stands, the Texas interior offensive line vs. the Alabama interior defensive line feels like the biggest mismatch in next week's game to these eyes.
No. 3 - Get your popcorn ready ...
If you're Alabama head coach Nick Saban, you'd be really tempted this week to prepare a game-plan that has his best cornerback Kool-aid McKinstry going wherever Texas receiver Xavier Worthy goes for 60 minutes.
For all of the conversation about Worthy as a player this off-season, he was without a doubt the player that Sarkisian is still directing the passing game though.
(Worthy's Rice game grades from @PFF)
You see all of those green boxes? Those are good. The darker the better.
The third-year junior was moved all over the field on Saturday and was targeted four times in the first two offensive drives for the Longhorns. In a game with some true competition, he would have easily garnered double-digit targets.
He's the head of the snake for the Texas offense and if you're Alabama, you want to cut off the head with McKinstry and force Ewers to beat you with the other Texas receivers and a questionable run game. You can't let Worthy run wild.
Will McKInstry follow Worthy all over the field? Can Sark get Worthy into favorable match-ups? Can Ewers hit Worthy down the field when he gets open?
There might not be a better one vs. one match-up in college football all season if Saban gives McKinstry the assignment.
No. 4 - Other receiving grades from PFF...
(A.D. Mitchell)
(Jordan Whittington)
(Ja'Tavion Sanders)
No. 5 - Final Rice Game Impressions ...
... I don't know if that was the best game of T'Vondre Sweat's career, but it's in the conversation. He played like a first-round pick on Sunday. Keep that up, big man.
... I wondered if Jaylan Ford might regress to the mean with the turnovers created, but this kid just has a nose for the ball. NFL scouts will love this.
... Texas was 3 of 9 on third downs on offense in the first half, but 2 for 3 in the third quarter when it scored 21 points.
... The Texas wide receiver position might be five or six-deep, but when it comes to the rotation, Sarkisian almost exclusively plays his starters for almost the entire game. It'll be interesting to see if Johntay Cook can change that because that didn't happen on Saturday.
... Texas had 5 penalties for 40 yards in the game, but three of them arrived in the fourth quarter when the game had been decided and back-ups were on the field.
... He wasn't asked to do a lot, but Ryan Sanborn was very good in his first game at punter.
... Consider me disappointed with the performance of Barryn Sorrell. I'm expecting a bounce-back game next week.
... Sunday Hot Take: Malik Muhammad is the best Texas defensive back.
... Sunday Hot Take No. 2 - Jaydon Blue saved his Texas career on Saturday. Entering the game as fourth-team, it was fair to wonder if he was slowly heading towards the Portal, but he emerged to these eyes as the best back in the game once CJ Baxter exited with an injury. Maybe all he needed was a chance...
... Michael Taaffe is going to have his hands full trying to keep true freshman Derek Williams from taking his job, but shout out to Taffee for emerging as a week one starter at safety.
... True Freshman Games Played Chart: RB - CJ Baxter (1), RB Tre Wisner (1), WR Johntay Cook (1), LB Anthony Hill (1), LB Liona Lefau (1), DB Derek Williams (1), CB Malik Muhammad (1), DB Jelani McDonald (1)
... Yikes.
No. 6 - Around the SEC/Big 12 ...
... Alabama did to Middle Tennessee State exactly what you would expect them to do. Jalen Milroe became the first Alabama quarterback in history to pass for three touchdowns and run for two in the same game. Now comes a Texas defense that I think will expose him in week two, but his legs are a concern, no doubt about it. His ability to make off-schedule plays is just a killer for defenses.
... I didn't think Alabama ran the ball all that well. Take Milroe out of the running game and the Tide averaged 4.6 yards per carry against MTSU.
... Evan Stewart is the truth.
... Connor Weigman looked like a guy that's made a lot of improvement, but let's not start rubbing each other's shoulders just yet. We'll know more after the Miami game.
... TCU is eventually going to have to make a decision on Chandler Morris at some point this season because he just isn't it from my vantage point. Signed, Initial president of the Josh Hoover fan club.
... Jared Wiley has emerged as a damn good player for the Horned Frogs. Damn good.
... Tommy Brockermeyer didn't play in TCU's opener against CU, just in case you were wondering ...
... OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel being very good against the Arkansas States of the world has never been in question. Wake me up when he's tested against a good team.
... Jackson Arnold in his debut: 11 of 11 for 114 yards and a touchdown.
... Jaquaize Pettaway in his debut: 9 receptions for 56 yards.
... Cincinnati at Pittsburgh might be an interesting game to keep an eye on this week. Cincinnati might be a sneaky dark-horse in the Big 12, but let's see how they take to playing on the road.
... Baylor should feel ashamed today. An 11-point loss at home to Texas State? Woof.
No. 7 - Repeating ain't easy ...
The Texas volleyball team is learning that repeating isn't easy the hard way.
One week after losing to unranked Long Beach State in 4 sets to open the season, the Longhorns were matched up with No. 2 Stanford at home with a chance to send a message to the rest of the country that the road to the 2023 title still comes through Austin.
Instead, the Longhorns were swept in three (25-23, 25-20, 25-15).
There's still a lot of season left to play to figure things out, but the Longhorns were just outclassed by a better team on Sunday and through four games thus far this season, they've lost as many sets than they've won.
It's going to be a different kind of season.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) "Effective" feels like a very subjective idea and without having that defined a little more, I'm just going to sell. It's been a problem since high school and until I see it occur more than once every full moon, I'll probably be bearish on it.
(Sell) I'm still not sold on Milner for the long haul, at least not as much as I am that Ewers will have a statistically solid season as a passer. Milroe might have a better record as a starter, though.
(Sell) Texas doesn't have two legit back-ups. It has two talented back-ups, but I don't believe either are ready to play important roles in the offense.
(Buy) Nothing has changed. That will still be a difficult game and Ewers isn't Shedeur Sanders.
(Sell) I think they are issues equally troublesome. Can you tell me which one definitely gets solved first?
(Sell) The Texas defense will dominate Wyoming.
(Buy) Yeah, man, they couldn't impose their will against Rice.
(Sell) I'm not yet convinced, are you?
(Sell) There's no reason to think that at this point.
(Buy) That thought hasn't crossed my mind.
(Sell) I really think we have to stop talking about him in those terms. It's not remotely earned.
(Sell) I saw it. It might have been small and subtle, but he looks much more in command of things than he did last year.
(Sell) As a senior at SMU, Gilbert had one game-rating above 160 out of 12 games and four games below 125. I think Ewers is much closer to being able to win a conference title.
... My fantasy draft is on Tuesday night and I'm drafting 12th ... time to go WR/WR?
... You'll have to forgive me, but why the hell did the Vikings give TJ Hockenson $17.125 million per year? If he's getting that, what do they pay Justin Jefferson? $700 million per year?
... This is pretty cool. When was the last time a Texas-Ex made it to the round of Sixteen?
... Austin FC got a point on the road at New England, which is usually a pretty decent result, but #TeamVerde is now in 10th place in the West and has played fewer games than the teams they are competing against for one of the final playoff spots.
... Geez, Louise ... Jude Bellingham is something else.
... Who is ready to go try this bad boy?
... What is the lure of watching Yellowstone on CBS if they take out all of the cursing and violence?
No. 10 - The List: Best Bad Sports Movies ...
This isn't a list of the best sports movies. You're not going to find any Rockys or Bull Durhams or The Naturals on this list.
Instead, you're going to find bad movies that turned out good for some reason unique to them.
These are movies that the mainstream has forgotten, but we haven't. We love them for reasons that don't entirely make sense.
10. Johnny Be Good
Anthony Michael Hall might be more nerd than QB1, but the way that the schools cheated in this movie to get him to attend their school was so on the nose that schools in the SEC didn't blush as much as they looked over their shoulders.
9. Summer Catch
Am I wrong for liking Matthew Lillard as Billy Brubaker so much that it makes the list? Or am I just a sucker for Freddie Prinze Jr. in a summer romance movie?
8. The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
Almost everything we loved about the original is gone from this movie, but because they travel to Houston and play in the Astrodome, it's always been a low-key favorite.
7. Necessary Roughness
Two words ... Sin. Bad.
6. Blood Sport
It's as good as Van Damme ever gets, with a little Donald Gibb sprinkled in with some Forest Whittaker. Oh, and this guy...
5. Varsity Blues
Three words ... whipped cream bikini.
4. The Best of Times
Two words ... Reno. Hightower.
3. Six Pack
Kenny Rogers as a stock car driver traveling the south with six orphans serving as his crew pit. How did this not win an Oscar?
2. Over The Top
Stallone as an underdog arm wrestler trying to win back the love of his kid in the aftermath of the mother of his child dying, with an evil grandfather standing in his way.
Oh, and Bull Hurley.
1. Teen Wolf
The basketball scenes are so unbelievable that they just used the same lay-ups about 35 times, but there's something about Scott Howard and Boof and Stiles and Pamela and Coach Finstock and Chunny that is undeniable. I might have seen this movie 700 times in my life.
