Oklahoma 34, Texas 30
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was surgical in Week 2 when the Longhorns went on the road and abused Alabama. Ewers has faced adversity in his college career and this rivalry game tested his ability to bounce back once again.
On the second play from scrimmage, Ewers forced a pass to a well recovered receiver and Oklahoma cornerback Gentry Williams stepped in front of the ball for an interception. Five minutes into the game Ewers threw a pass a bit high for his tight end Ja’Taviom Sanders. Sanders stretched out and juggled the ball but a hit from an Oklahoma defender caused a deflection that was caught by the Sooners for an interception.
Midway through the first half Ewers had a good drive using his talented receiver Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy. To cap the drive Ewers dodged a rusher and rolled out before finding a backup tight end wide open in busted coverage for a touchdown pass from about 20 yards out. Shortly later Ewers found Worthy wide open in the deep middle of the field lofting in a 39-yard pass. Worthy had to hold up for the pass and if it was thrown sooner it could have been a touchdown. Texas settled for a game tying field goal just before the half.
Midway through the third quarter Ewers took off on a run and took a hard hit that jarred the ball loose. Gentry Williams scooped up the loose ball to take away a scoring opportunity from the Longhorns. Ewers came back to lead a field goal drive and then made a great read early in the fourth quarter to see a safety creep up before tossing it down the seam to set up a first-and-goal. The Sooners got a fourth-and-goal stop, but Ewers made some throws to help set up a tying touchdown run from Jonathon Brooks. Ewers completed 31-of-37 passes for 346 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Overall, this was a mixed tape from Ewers. Along with three turnovers, he had a lot of passes miss high and his accuracy was off. Team sources say that Ewers has gifted arm talent, good makeup, advanced football IQ, and will be NFL ready based on his college system and coaching at Texas. They feel that Ewers has really turned the corner with experience and maturity, so his intangibles could help him in the interview process in the lead up to the draft. Ewers has a shot at being a riser for the 2024 draft, but if he wants to be a first-round pick it might help him to go back to school next year and continue to improve before going pro.
Texas nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat is an early-round prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft and he showed why against Oklahoma. Midway through the first quarter Sweat had a highlight reel play bull rushing the guard straight back into the quarterback with only one arm and then shedding the blocker before pounding the quarterback into the turf. It caused an incompletion and the Sooners were fortunate it wasn’t a sack. Two plays later Sweat leapt high in the air to deflect a pass that led to a failed third down for the Sooners. Throughout the first quarter Sweat was having his way with the Oklahoma guards constantly rolling them back in the pocket. Sweat fell quiet for splash plays in the middle portion of the game, but he was doing a nice job of generating interior push and plugging up interior running lanes. In the fourth quarter the 362-pound Sweat showed superb strength and quickness to get off a double team block and then swallow up the running back for no gain.
Overall this tape is going to help Sweat. He showed overwhelming size, strength, and shocking quickness and athleticism for a heavy nose tackle. This tape showed that Sweat is not just a nose tackle to plug up running lanes, he also is able to power his way through guards in the pass rush to collapse the interior. In the 2024 NFL Draft, this tape is going to help Sweat to be a first- or second-round pick.
Oklahoma right tackle Tyler Guyton is an early-round prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft and he was very good taking on a talented Texas defensive line. The Longhorns edge rushers made their presence felt in their win over Alabama, but Guyton shut down his blockers in the rivalry match. In the third quarter Guyton showed his strength in goal line riding his defender five yards back and pushing him far away from the play. In the fourth quarter Guyton moved his edge rusher out of the play opening up a huge lane where his quarterback took off on a 44-yard run.
The 6-foot-7, 328-pound Guyton showed he is an athletic freak with a special combination of size, speed, length, and athleticism. Guyton used his big size and length to make it tough for defenders to run around him with his long arms tying up defenders with excellent ability to sustain his blocks. Guyton was a smooth mover in space showing quickness to fire out of his stance and engage defenders. Aside from a false start in the second quarter, Guyton was dominant versus Texas. Multiple team sources say that Guyton has first-round potential, but needs to be more consistent. Guyton was consistent in this game and this tape will help his draft grade.