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Quinn Ewers and Texas football are starting their College Football Playoff journey in just a matter of days, set to take on the Clemson Tigers at home on Dec. 21.
The Longhorns have an x-factor to them that will help the team going into the matchup, and it is not quarterback Quinn Ewers. In fact, he's been more of a topic of the transfer portal speculation than anything else. There are two things that could ultimately lead to Texas football getting a win outside of Ewers.
The x-factor here could really be one of two things — the eventual introduction of Arch Manning into the game (something that many are already calling for) or Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe. That is also for two extremely different reasons.
Here's why.
Could playing Arch Manning over Quinn Ewers really be the right option?
The biggest concern around Ewers, who was once considered to be the best quarterback if not the best overall player in the nation, is not even level of play. It's the way his recent lower-body injury has hindered not only his mobility, but even his improvisation ability to make thing happen on the fly or to gain some extra yardage to move the chains.
That has made Texas football one-dimensional offensively in some ways and is partially the reason why teams like Georgia have been able to limit the Longhorns on offense and ultimately come out with the victory, even if things do end up coming down to the wire.
Arch Manning, who has a different type of mobility, and dare we say, speed element to his game, has the ability to do all of those things. And after holding the clipboard for so long and choosing to learn behind the veteran Ewers as opposed to transferring, he is capable of playing at a high level that can legitimately contend with Ewers.
Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports is among the analysts who believe we could see Arch Manning at some point, and that it is warranted because of the way Ewers has been mechanically affected by his injuries to this point.
But that does not mean we will necessarily see him make an appearance in this particular game, unless it is needed. That may be a part of the course of action in the next game Texas football plays, though, granted the Longhorns do get the outcome that they are looking for here.
“So will we see more of Manning in the red zone against Clemson? It stands to reason it makes sense for Texas to consider it, but its first round matchup may not require it,” he wrote. “The Clemson defense has allowed 4.21 points per red zone possession, which ranks 33rd in the Power Four. The Tigers have allowed 14 passing touchdowns in the red zone, which ranks 108th nationally. Meanwhile, only two of the 11 rushing touchdowns the Tigers have allowed have come against quarterbacks.”
The future for Ewers, not only in this game, but also for the future, looks murky. Some have speculated that he will enter the transfer portal, while others still strongly believe he will enter the 2025 NFL Draft, which seemed to reasonably be his original plan.
Steve Sarkisian has a lot to think about…
What kind of a difference could Texas Longhorn safety Michael Taaffe make?
Taaffe's name may not come to mind as quickly as some other Longhorns players when it comes down to who could be the deciding factor of this game. But outside of what he brings to the table purely as a strong defensive asset, he also has familiarity with Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Those two go way back, taking the field together years ago at Westlake High School. They had plenty of success together, taking care of business on their respective side of the ball to win a Texas 6A state championship in 2021. Coincidentally, that came against none other than a Southlake Carroll team led by current Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Taaffe is very familiar with Klubnik's competitive and aggressive nature when he does choose to take off and run. It is something he is anticipating with the most important weekend of the year now up on the horizon.
“He does whatever it takes to win,” Taaffe said in a report from USA TODAY SMG. “I don't assume that there's going to be a lot of sliding out of Cade (Klubnik) come Saturday. There's probably not going to be a lot of stepping out of bounds.”
They spent a lot of time together, especially when they had to handle the altered COVID season that affected football around the country at all levels.
“It was COVID when he was my quarterback, so there was nothing that we could do but go throw the football around,” Taaffe said at his Monday press conference. “And like Jahdae said, I've mentioned, like Drew's mentioned, you know, we were with Bam Performance 100 days straight, but that was just two hours of the day. I had 22 hours of the day left, and so me and Cade were throwing the ball, running routes, and figuring out every single avenue how to win the state championship.”
Now they'll be looking to get the better of each other as the two go head-to-head on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, where the Longhorns are favored to come out with the home victory and chance to continue progressing through the postseason.
