The Reheat: UTSA
Texas buries UTSA 56-7, and a quarterback injury feels all too familiar, except not at all.
Welcome to The Reheat, a weekly recap of the previous day’s game, just popped out of the microwave. Look for it every Sunday, rain or shine.
On one hand, last night reminded me of how fragile this all is. Texas fans know that feeling as well as anybody. A non-contact abdominal strain, a blow to the shoulder, a turn of the ankle—and what was supposed to be a special season can all of a sudden be shattered in pieces on the floor. Quinn Ewers was rolling, both to start the season and the game against UTSA. He felt more comfortable in his own skin than he’s ever been. It was like he was driving a convertible with the top down, sun shining, on the way to the Heisman ceremony and NFL draft. Watching him hide his head in his jersey made me feel sick for him. Before it was reported that the injury was just a strained abdomen and wasn’t serious, the doomsday scenarios in my mind were more terrifying than watching Mike Elko coach in the pouring rain with a wet Dri-Fit shirt on. There are some things you just shouldn’t have to see.
That feeling of having something special stolen from you as a fan—it knocks the wind out of you, like a dropkick to the stomach. Frankly, I’m sick of having to go through it. I don’t like having to trust message board doctors on oblique strains and AC joint cracks, nor do I like being a body language doctor. I’m just tired of all of it.
But on the other hand, last night showed Texas fans how different things are now. An injury once revealed the cracks in the Longhorn program, showing there wasn’t much holding up the monolith behind Colt McCoy. Last night wasn’t the national championship, but in a spot where Texas could have been prone to a letdown, they continued to roll, backup quarterback or not. And that second team quarterback looked like he could start for almost every other team in the country. Steve Sarkisian has a true embarrassment of riches in Austin beyond the quarterback room, but that’s room is the topic of discussion today. Quinn went out, and Texas hardly skipped a beat thanks to Arch Manning’s dazzling five-touchdown performance. Watching Quinn Ewers this year has been great because it’s like watching a veteran in complete command, schooling a bunch of boys. But Arch Manning is a wonder to behold. Watching him play blows your hair back, and it’s hard to wipe the smile off your face as you take it all in. Though he was amazing, he still made half a dozen rookie mistakes, and that’s why this time will be valuable. Arch can grow while Quinn heals up.
I remember when Arch Manning committed, a friend told me that only Texas would find a way to screw that situation up. Maybe your daddy’s Texas would have. But now, it’s clear that the college football world is going to have to come to terms with the fact that the Longhorns have a once-in-a-generation "pass the torch" scenario on their hands. The media, idiots, Aggies, Sooners, and more idiots will try to make it a controversy, but Sark has never come close to entertaining one. It’s not like Sark was surprised by Arch’s performance last night, he knows what he has in #16. Maybe, just maybe, both Quinn and Arch like the situation they’re in. Now the rest of the country will have to come to terms with that.
Fire The Cannon for: Texas is ranked #1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2009, my first year at UT. Though rankings don’t matter, they actually do. How many crappy programs have been ranked #1 since then? None. The number is a number, but it’s still a hell of a sign that represents what Sark has done with this program in four years. What matters now is what Texas does with this opportunity moving forward. They need to make sure the ranking doesn’t look like when your kid brings home an A on a Spanish test—the paper gets hung on the fridge, but then they fail the class later.
Horns Up on Offense for: This wide receiver room. The top six in the rotation have 11 touchdowns combined through three games. Texas has absolute gamers in veteran transfers Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond. DeAndre Moore and Johntay Cook popped last night against UTSA and will be around for a long time. Then there's the freshman thoroughbred Ryan Wingo, who looks like the kind of player that will destroy NFL secondaries for a decade. Lastly, the electrifying Silas Bolden was the star of camp and has just one touchdown, but he still hasn’t been fully deployed. Sark has a lot of toys to play with, and it’s going to be fun as hell.
Bonus shout out to Gunnar Helm (again). Helm is reminding me of the Dad who loses a bunch of weight after New Years and then you realize is a freak athlete. The dude is having a hell of a start to the year.
Horns Up on Defense for: Colin Simmons. The freshman star edge has two sacks through three games, but he could have eight. In my People’s Champ prediction article, I compared him to a baby Brian Orakpo, and I’m feeling good about putting that out into the universe. What’s scary is how raw he is. Simmons reminds me of a goofy labrador puppy who doesn’t yet know how big he is, but he’s constantly running around and raising hell. Once he’s full grown, watch out.
Bonus shout out to Ethan Burke, the ex-lacrosse phenom turned burly defensive end who showed off his soft hands on a pick and rumbled for a big-man touchdown.
Bevo’s Bucket for: There were moments of letdown in a game that many feared would be reminiscent of Wyoming last year, but Texas still won 56-7. That’s a testament to how much this team has grown and improved, especially on defense behind a very good secondary. Still, there was the awkward Ewers interception, Manning’s freshmanitis moments, and pre-snap penalties.
Schadenfreude of the week: The hate-watchers will have left Week 3 disappointed as LSU and Oklahoma held on. Then the Aggies made quick work of Florida with Marcel Reed under center, ensuring Connor Weigman’s banishment from College Station but opening the door for him to star in Malibu’s Most Wanted 2. That said, I once had an unpleasant experience with a Florida State fan in the Jacksonville airport Chili’s, and I hope that guy is looking forward to basketball season.
This piping Hot Take burned the roof of my mouth: Jeff Traylor has gone from a cute story to a certified huckster in my book. The first darling of the Texas high school sports loving media mafia has stayed in San Antonio too long because he thought he would be the head coach of Texas or A&M one day. Now, without the 37-year-old Frank Harris, he’s had to turn to a team of mercenaries from the portal, who delivered cheap shots to Longhorns all night and talked crap to Steve Sarkisian as they were being run off the field. Traylor was awarded a giant contract from UTSA after he turned down Texas Tech. Bad move, Jeff. He’ll be fired from UTSA before the 2026 season finishes and will be back to coaching special teams on units that have three extra points blocked in one game.
Hype Train Level (1 being kicking off twice in the same game, 10 being Run Ricky Run): A dip in the hype this week out of self-preservation. 7.2