The start of the 2024 college football season has arrived. It could not have gotten off to a better start for the Texas Longhorns in their Week 1 game against the Colorado State Rams.
Week 1 Recap: Texas Wins 52-0 vs. Colorado State
The Longhorns shut out the Rams in dominant fashion, winning 52-0 behind stellar performances from both of their QBs.
Texas starting QB Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards (20-27), 3 TDs and 1 INT. Taking away the INT that was a tipped ball, Ewers had an impressive outing in Week 1 of his Heisman campaign. Had the game been closer, he would’ve stayed in.
Ewers completed touchdown passes to his new WR weapons Isaiah Bond (Alabama transfer) and Matthew Golden (Houston transfer). Both of Ewers’ TD passes to Golden were NFL-caliber throws.
Fast forward to the middle of the 3Q with Texas leading 38-0, in came Arch Manning. The nephew of (2) NFL greats Eli and Peyton Manning, Arch Manning sat behind Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy as Texas’s third string QB last year.
With Murphy transferring to Duke, Arch has slid into the backup spot for the Longhorns. Arch has been an impressive talent for the Longhorns in the few times he’s been on the field. Ewers, however, is going into Year 3 as Texas’s starting QB and is the right choice for QB.
As a current redshirt freshman, Arch’s time will come and with another year developing under Sarkisian and playing behind Ewers, Arch will no doubt be one of the top QBs in college football next year.
Arch finished with 95 yards of passing (5/6), a passing TD to Silas Bolden (Oregon State transfer), and a rushing TD.
An easy, no-nonsense win for the Longhorns before they head to the Big House in Week 2.
Week 2 Preview @ Michigan
For the second year in a row, Texas will hit the road in Week 2 to take on one of College Football’s powerhouse programs.
After upsetting #3 Alabama last year in Tuscaloosa, a win that propelled the Longhorns to their first CFP appearance, the Longhorns will look to replicate that same storyline this year when they travel to the Big House to take on the reigning National Champions in #9 Michigan.
Now, Michigan is a far different team than the one that went 15-0 last year. No Jim Harbaugh. No J.J. McCarthy. No Blake Corum. No Roman Wilson.
Replacing Harbaugh is Sherrone Moore, who served as Harbaugh’s OC since 2021. Moore also stepped in as Michigan’s acting HC last season when Harbaugh was suspended.
Replacing McCarthy is Senior Davis Warren, who threw for 118 Yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in Michigan’s Week 1 win vs. Fresno State.
A lot of Texas fans, myself included, wonder what would’ve happened had Texas made the CFP championship last year.
Although we’ll never know, we will get to see these two powerhouses face off not even a year later.
The key for Texas is going to be stopping Michigan’s pass offense. Michigan did not score a rushing TD vs Fresno State but put in 2 receiving TDs courtesy of Colston Loveland and Donovan Edwards. The run defense of Texas is elite. The pass defense, at least last year, was not.
The biggest reason for Texas’s eventual loss to Washington in the CFP semifinal was their secondary and just how badly Michael Penix Jr. torched them.
If Texas can pressure Warren, mitigate the damage done in the air, and force Michigan to run, then they’ll be in a good position to win.
Regardless of who is or isn’t there for Michigan, or even Texas, this game is expected to be the biggest non-conference game of the season with College Gameday making an appearance in Ann Arbor.
A win for either team would serve as a great resume boost come December.
Texas is currently -7.5 (-110) and they are -278 on the ML, according to Draftkings. They also have a 73.8% to win according to ESPN Analytics.
Saturday cannot come soon enough.
