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Texas football has waited two decades to add to its national championship trophy room. The Longhorns get their chance to pursue title No. 5 on Saturday afternoon against Clemson. This time, the stakes are different for head coach Steve Sarkisian and company.
“Coach Sark” and Texas must win not one but four games total to secure the title. Based on the new postseason format, Texas won't have a bye week after falling short of the Southeastern Conference title. They'll need to take the long road to end the program's national title drought.
Clemson won't be an easy pushover, however. The Tigers have a two-time national championship-winning head coach on their side in Dabo Swinney. Clemson walks into Darnell K. Royal Stadium red-hot — having won four of its last five games, including the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
Furthermore, for Texas, Quinn Ewers has hovering questions about his future with the Longhorns. He won back the starting quarterback duties and nearly led the ‘Horns to their first-ever SEC championship. But Arch Manning remains waiting in the wings. Plus, Ewers' two-interception night against Georgia on Dec. 7 left many Texas fans furious.
How will this game shape up in the highly-anticipated first round of games? Here are some bold predictions on the side of the Longhorns.
Quinn Ewers will have multiple turnovers
Unfortunately for Ewers, this contest isn't promising a turnover-free game for him.
Clemson tied for third among ACC teams with snatching 15 interceptions. This Tigers defense forced SMU star Kevin Jennings to lose the football twice back on Dec. 7.
Ewers has become a hot-and-cold QB when it comes to ball security. Nationally-ranked opponents have stolen the ball from him in four games this season. Georgia picked him off a combined two times while Texas A&M snatched the ball from Ewers. Oklahoma and Vanderbilt grabbed interceptions against him during a time when both were nationally ranked during the season.
Ewers' two-interception SEC title game makes him immediately prone to another multiple-turnover afternoon.
Texas will have more success with the run this time
Fortunately for the Longhorns, they don't have to rely on Ewers' arm the whole night.
Texas is facing a run defense that allowed 154 rushing yards to SMU. The Mustangs averaged 4.4 yards per carry — allowing them to hang with Clemson and nearly erase their large deficit.
Georgia bottled Texas to a paltry 1.1 yards per carry two weeks ago. Clemson's defensive weakness is stopping the run. The Tigers ranked 14th among 17 ACC teams against the run.
Count on Sarkisian to trust Quintrevion Wisner to wear down Clemson. Wisner looks due for a 25+ carry outing. Texas is 2-0 when he handles that many handoffs.
Texas WR duo will still go off on Clemson
We've predicted Ewers will struggle to limit the interceptions. However, he still has two dynamic weapons Clemson must account for.
Despite the offensive struggles against Georgia, the Texas wide receiver duo of Matthew Golden and DeAndre Moore Jr. combined for 17 receptions and 276 yards. The Bulldogs managed to allow only one receiving touchdown between the two.
While Clemson is skilled at creating aerial takeaways, the Tigers still surrendered 304 passing yards in the ACC championship game. Clemson also has allowed at least one touchdown reception in 11 of its 13 games.
Ewers may still struggle. But the Golden/Moore duo is capable of keeping the air attack humming.
Texas will grab multiple sacks
Longhorns defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski deserves a lot of credit for his game plan against Georgia earlier this month. His schematics prevented a Georgia player — running or receiving option — from surpassing 100 yards individually.
A big reason was his pass rush. Texas tussled down Carson Beck and Gunner Stockton to three total sacks. Kwiatkowski sent his defensive backs past the line of scrimmage to snatch the sacks or force errant throws. Texas even delivered more tackles for a loss (10) compared to Georgia's six.
Clemson's Cade Klubnik is coming off his three-sack evening. And that was against a top-30 SMU defense. Texas comes with the best defensive unit in the SEC. Klubnik and his pass protection are in for a rough night.
Texas wins off defense
The Longhorns have the edge of having the better defensive unit.
Klubnik may bring the more impressive numbers with 33 touchdowns and only five interceptions. But he's never faced a defense like this since the season opener against Georgia. And that became a 34-3 onslaught at the hands of the Bulldogs.
Ewers gets backed by a stronger defense. His Texas career continues based on that. The Longhorns, in general, set up a New Year's Day showdown against the champion from their former conference, Arizona State.
