Most Texas Longhorns players on the roster have never been to Ann Arbor, Mich. This week’s trip to face the ninth-ranked Wolverines will be their first visit to Michigan Stadium, otherwise known as the Big House.
One Longhorn knows what’s in store. And he’s an important one, too.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers was a freshman at Ohio State in 2021 when the Buckeyes traveled to face the so-called “that team up north,” the preferred Buckeyes’ parlance for describing Wolverines.
Lest anyone forget, Ewers grew up in Southlake, a Dallas suburb, wanting to be a Texas Longhorn. He doesn’t have this lifelong animosity toward Michigan like your traditional Ohio State Buckeye would. Still, when in Rome, right? Do as the Buckeyes do.
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Ewers joked about the “team up north” reference after Saturday’s win over Colorado State. But Ewers admitted he can say the actual word — “Michigan.”
“It’s a great atmosphere,” Ewers said Monday. “They’ve got passionate fans, and it was a cool experience for me to get to go up there and kind of see how that rivalry is.”
Ewers experienced the wild scene in the stadium tunnel, where the two teams commingle. It’s similar to the Cotton Bowl, where Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners come together before splitting into separate locker rooms.
So he knows what it’s like to play there. “I mean, I didn’t play,” he shot back. “But it’s going to be a good atmosphere.”
No, Ewers didn’t play in the Buckeyes’ 42-27 loss that ended Ohio State’s eight-game winning streak in the rivalry. He transferred to Texas after the season with his redshirt season intact.
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Still, Ewers is a creature of habit. Just the simple fact he knows where’s going and what it’s like will ease pregame tensions. “I’m not changing anything up, treating it like it’s any other game,” Ewers said. “No, I don’t like to change things up.”
Ewers is coming off a strong season debut with the Longhorns. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 260 yards and threw three touchdowns with one interception. Ewers spread the ball around to 10 different receivers in the first half as the Horns ran up a 31-0 lead at the break.
“I can remember a couple years ago, and I think it was his first career pass. It gets intercepted here in DKR, and you can almost see he was a little shook,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “And of course you would be.
“Saturday, the ball gets tipped and he throws an interception. It was just so calm,” Sarkisian continued. “He goes, ‘I was trying to throw it away.’ He didn’t feel rattled, like what might happen next? Are they going to change me or something? It was more about this is what I was doing. It was like water off his back, and it was on to the next.”
Keeping an even-keel mindset is critical for a quarterback. “I think so, or at least I like to think it does,” Ewers said. “That’s why I act the way I act. Just kind of stay even keel, not get too high with the highs and too lows with the lows.”
That will be critical in a high-pressure environment like Saturday.
“I'm aware of how loud it gets and whatnot,” Ewers said, “but, you know, it has been a little while.”
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