Texas Longhorns PRESS Michigan | Steve Sarkisian, Quinn Ewers confirmed national title contenders?
Texas entered the 2024 season with high expectations ahead of their first year in the SEC. The Longhorns had just won one last Big 12 title and their first ever College Football Playoff appearance, and the first test was not long in coming.
Texas on the way to Michigan in Week 2 to face the reigning national champions in the Big House. Quinn Ewers and the offensive meant facing one of the best defenses in the country, led by Will Johnson as cornerback. He handled the task with ease and Texas left Ann Arbor with a 31-12 victory and 389 yards of total offense.
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The Longhorns looked like a CFP contender in Week 2, and On3s JD PicKell said it was more than just passing a test. He thinks Steve Sarkisian The group established itself as a team capable of winning the national title.
“I think Texas … made a statement in Ann Arbor,” PicKell said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “They’re not just going to be a team that hangs around and we talk about being a contender. I think they’re one of those teams that can win the whole damn thing. We always knew they were one of those teams that could – when you’re playing in a game where it’s ‘first to reach 40,’ you feel good about Ewers, you feel good about Sark, you feel good about the guns.
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“But they went to Ann Arbor and pressured the Bullies. They held them to 82 yards and definitely had an advantage there at the line of scrimmage against a team that makes its living at the line of scrimmage.”
Ewers had a great day in the win, throwing for 246 yards and three touchdowns. But Texas also did it on the ground, scoring 143 rushing yards despite losing Jaydon Blue for a while due to injury.
The unit that stood out the most, however, was the offensive line – a group the Longhorns return almost entirely from last season. They went head-to-head with a Michigan defensive line that was the driving force behind a dominant scheme.
On the other side of the ball, the Wolverines’ offensive line, which has been strong in recent years, has struggled against Texas’ defensive front. If the Longhorns can repeat that performance, it will add a whole new dynamic to their team, according to PicKell.
“If Texas can play that game in addition to the firepower games of first-to-40 and first-to-50, they’re going to be a problem for the rest of college football,” PicKell said. “So I think Texas has sent a very clear message right now that they mean business and then some.”
