Texas football’s defense is stifling Texas A&M – but is Quinn Ewers okay?

Don’t mess with the Texas defense. This is a nasty, punishing, rock-solid unit, as Texas A&M has learned.
The victory will send Texas to the SEC championship game to face Georgia.
Quinn Ewers’ turnover issues remain a concern.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Don’t mess with the Texas defense.

This is a nasty, punishing, rock-solid unit.

Texas made a statement Saturday night that will reverberate through every corner of this football-mad state. The Longhorns run Texas, even though Texas A&M made them sweat to establish it.

The Texas defense refused to let this victory slip away, even after Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers nearly spoiled it in the second half.

No. 3 Texas upset the rival it considers its little brother in a 17-7 victory over No. 19 Texas A&M at Kyle Field.

In a battle for the soul of Texas, 109,028 fans watched the Longhorns announce they were built for the rigors of the SEC.

Just when Texas A&M looked ready to turn this into a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, Ethan Burke broke through the line to destroy the Aggies on fourth down.

Many have tried to conquer this Texan defense. Many have failed.

“Defensively tonight, absolutely dominant performance,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

By achieving this result, the Longhorns silenced the “Texas doesn’t beat anyone!” » crowd, but the Longhorns’ offensive erosion after halftime means questions linger about whether Texas is balanced enough to win the national championship.

Arch Manning remains the most popular backup quarterback in America. He added to his buzz by running for a touchdown when Sarkisian slotted him in for a fourth down play, wanting to use Manning’s speed.

But Sarkisian mostly trusts Ewers with Texas’ national championship hopes, even though he showed an unsteady hand, just as he did in a loss to Georgia.

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Win helps validate Texas and wins SEC championship game

Texas finally has a win against an opponent that had a number next to its name in the CFP rankings, but the playoff committee didn’t wait for that validation.

Texas has been in third place for the past three weeks because the selection committee didn’t want to deny what its eyes saw. Simply put, the Longhorns (11-1) are solid – and elite on defense.

Either way, the Longhorns have to wonder what the problem was with the SEC.

Texas spent the season punishing its new conference foes — and that includes its old Big 12 rival who had a 12-year head start on it in the SEC.

“The match is won in advance,” Sargsyan said. “We don’t play flag football. We don’t play 7-on-7. You have to be really good from the start, especially in this conference.”

Texas will face Georgia for the SEC championship in its first season in a conference that has provided 13 of the last 18 national champions since Texas won its last national championship in the 2005 season.

The Aggies (8-4) only reach the SEC championship in their dreams. This year joins 2012 and 2020 for A&M as another tight bid over Atlanta that fell short.

After Texas establishes national supremacy, the question shifts to: Can the Longhorns win a national championship?

The defense, at least, seems to be up to the task. I’m not so sure about this offense in Texas.

Texas’ defense is elite, but should the Longhorns be worried about Quinn Ewers?

Sarkisian has built Texas into a physical program that plays punishing defense. The Longhorns beat any Aggie with the ball in their hands. They’re also ball hawks, and Michael Taaffe provided Texas with its 25th steal of the season with an acrobatic interception of Marcel Reed.

Grade A beef abounds on the offensive line. Running lanes were abundant for Texans running backs, and Quintrevion Wisner ran for 186 yards.

That leaves the quarterback. Ewers couldn’t provide the final completion Texas needed last year in a CFP semifinal loss to Washington.

If Texas has anything to worry about, it’s turnover issues.

Turnovers thwarted Texas in a loss to Georgia, with Ewers contributing three, and his turnovers in back-to-back games Saturday allowed the Aggies to climb back into the game after Texas took a 17-0 lead to half-time.

Sarkisian took his quarterback’s place and credited his “courageous performance” while playing with an injured ankle. Sarkisian described Ewers’ turnovers as “unlucky plays” and, to his credit, Ewers had several big hits and several long runs as Texas built a commanding lead.

As for turnovers, Ewers threw a pick-six while under duress from a blitz. That revived an Aggies crowd that had gone silent as Texas threatened to turn this into a blowout.

As Aggies fans waved their white towels and raised their voices, the stadium shook and tensions rose.

An Ewers fumble ended Texas’ next drive. Then A&M blocked a punt and, in the blink of an eye, the Aggies found themselves in the red zone, about to turn this into a one-possession game.

Burke had another idea. His tackle for loss extinguished the rally.

Soon after, Texas fans began chanting “DRY! DRY! DRY!”

Texas belongs to the Longhorns. With one more win, the SEC will be theirs too.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btopppmeyer. Subscribe to read all his columns.