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    • Texas Football, Quinn Ewers Crush Michigan, Give Karma Day Off
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    Texas Football, Quinn Ewers Crush Michigan, Give Karma Day Off

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    • Some might call this Michigan’s revenge after a season filled with cheating allegations, but Texas needed no help from karma to beat the Wolverines.
    • Quinn Ewers defeated Davis Warren, and it was a close call.
    • Steve Sarkisian turned Texas football into the powerful program that Michigan once was under Jim Harbaugh.

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Quinn Ewers stepped into the pocket and saw green grass ahead of him. He could have rushed for a first down. But Ewers looked past the first-down sticks.

    Why run when the Texas quarterback can use his powerful right arm?

    His tight end, Gunnar Helm, slid into that sweet space behind the linebackers and between the defensive backs, all alone in the back of the end zone.

    Zipper.

    Landing.

    Ewers made it look easy. All day long.

    Ewers and his Longhorns kept Michigan on the edge of their seats Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium, with the reigning national champions drying up like an old apple kicking Texas aside.

    No. 3 Texas 31, No. 9 Michigan 12.

    The 111,170 fans who had spent a lot of money on tickets probably expected a heavyweight fight.

    Michigan deprived those fans of a good match. Only one heavyweight showed up.

    A top 10 confrontation turned into a punishment.

    Texas (2-0) crushed the Wolverines (1-1), flattening them and burying them under the foundation of the Big House.

    Texas Football Gives Karma-Free Day, Beats Michigan Straight to Win

    Some might call this overdue retribution for Michigan, which stole signs and broke NCAA rules en route to an undefeated season and its first national championship since 1997, but Karma could take Saturday afternoon off. Its services weren’t needed. The Longhorns took care of this themselves.

    Texas bullied Michigan at the line of scrimmage. Ewers did the rest, with 246 passing yards and three touchdowns. Michigan seemed exhausted from the dominance it displayed under Jim Harbaugh.

    Yes, cheating flourished, but reducing the Wolverines’ success in 2023 to the work of Conor Stalion is reductive. Harbaugh’s Wolverines had everything they needed to chase glory, including a reliable quarterback, a dominant offensive line and a disruptive defense.

    These Wolverines have none of that. The offense lacks downfield punch while first-year starting quarterback Davis Warren is in control. He hasn’t gotten much help, either.

    If Michigan can’t develop offensive players and a quarterback in the next two months, even Ryan Day will beat this team.

    A pair of clocks in the left corner of the scoreboards here keep track of possession time. For most of the game, the clock on the Texas side seemed to be running at turbo speed as the Longhorns marched on long scoring drives, and the Wolverines’ clock struggled to keep up.

    A two-play sequence late in the first story summed up Michigan’s day. Wide receiver Semaj Morgan ran free through Texas’ secondary for what should have been a big gain, but Warren’s pass flew over his head. Warren found some contact on the next play, connecting with Colston Loveland. Texas’ closest defender was 5 yards away as Loveland stumbled toward the first-down line.

    Never mind. Loveland let the ball slip through his hands.

    Texas recovered from Loveland’s fumble.

    The Longhorns forced three turnovers—intercepting Warren twice—but it would be more accurate to call this one a gift. Okay, so maybe karma helped a little.

    Loveland is expected to be the first pick in the NFL draft, but Texas’ Helm claimed the lead at tight end today with 98 receiving yards.

    It’s nice to have Ewers as your quarterback.

    Quinn Ewers Shows Michigan What a Quarterback Looks Like

    Ewers looked really good on first and second downs. He became masterful on third downs.

    The windy conditions were more suitable for kite flying than pigskin throwing, but the wind had no effect on Ewers.

    This was the quarterback we saw Texas drag away from Alabama last September. He’s the quarterback who keeps Arch Manning on the sidelines.

    That Steve Sarkisian developed Ewers from a five-star talent into a star player seems obvious.

    Sark arrived in Austin with a well-earned reputation as an ace recruiter and a handy guide to quarterbacks. He is all of those things, but he also brought a much-needed mean streak to Texas.

    For too long, while Texas stumbled through years of mediocrity, the Longhorns were soft. They failed to live up to their talent level. They became a joke. That’s old news. These Longhorns are no joke.

    Texas’ veteran offensive line punished Michigan in a way rarely seen in the Harbaugh era.

    Midway through the second half, when the rout had fully set in, a Texas fan dressed in a fringed Western shirt held up Hook ’em Horns, urging other Texas fans dressed in burnt orange to join in the cheer.

    Michigan fans were in stunned silence.

    Horns up. Corn mowed.

    Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

    Subscribe to read all his columns. Also check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, and newsletter, SEC Unfiltered.

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