When Steve Sarkisian settled at the podium after Texass football's 31-12 beatdown of Michigan in the Big House , he wanted to talk about his team's poise.
And who could blame him? The Longhorns had just validated months and months of hype by dominating the defending national champions on the road from start to finish.
"For our players to come in and play with the poise and composure that they played with, but yet also the physicality and the toughness we had to play with today, I thought they just did a really nice job," Sarkisian said.
Nobody better exemplified that poise than Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers . The composure he demonstrated in the huddle and in the locker room is impossible to quantify. But the assuredness Ewers showed under pressure Saturday can be easily defined — and it could mean big things for Texas.
How Quinn Ewers showed growth against Michigan
Ewers attempted 10 passes while under pressure from the elite Wolverines defensive front. He turned them into six completions for 93 yards and a touchdown — an average of 9.3 yards per attempt. With a clean pocket, Ewers posted 5.9 yards per attempt.
Improving from a mixed outing last week, those are elite results against pressure, and a step up from what Ewers did throughout last season when he completed 35 of 68 passes under pressure for 557 yards and one touchdown.
His NFL-style passer rating in those situations came in at 84.0 in 2023. His passer rating in the same situations on Saturday was 124.2.
One illustration of Ewers' success against pressure came on his first touchdown pass of the afternoon, when he stepped out of a folding pocket and threw on the run to find his tight end, Gunnar Helm.
The Longhorns have what looks like one of the nation's top offensive lines. But the best teams on Texas' schedule will have athletes on the defensive line who can challenge them. Ewers negated Michigan's pass rush with his composure and intelligence.
If he can repeat that, it gives Texas a huge boost in big games.
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Texas football shows big change in defensive playcalling
For some, one small concern amid Texas' fabulous start to 2024 might reside in the sack column. True freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons has the Longhorns' only sack through two games.
Part of that is likely a function of a rebuilt defensive line. Byron Murphy II and T'Vondre Sweat both moved on to the NFL following the 2023 season. But that total has also been influenced by the way defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is calling plays early on.
Against Michigan, the Longhorns blitzed on just 20% of the dropbacks for Michigan quarterback Davis Warren. That's the lowest pass blitz percentage for the Texas defense since a Week 5 game against TCU in 2021 — the first season on the job for Sarkisian and Kwiatkowski. A week earlier, Colorado State QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was blitzed on 22.2% of his pass attempts.
Just last season, Texas blitzed on roughly 37% of the opposition's dropbacks.
Against the Wolverines, it worked. Michigan turned it over three times, and each of those giveaways came while facing a four-man pass rush.
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Longhorns scheme around Michigan star Will Johnson
If you were looking forward to watching Michigan's Will Johnson go up against Texas' exciting group of transfer wide receivers , Sarkisian might owe you a rain check.
The Longhorns threw at Johnson — projected by some to be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL draft — exactly once all game. That play resulted in a 6-yard reception for Jaydon Blue.
Instead, Texas spent much of the game targeting Jyaire Hill, a first-year starter at defensive back for Michigan. Ten of Ewers' 36 pass attempts went his way, denying Johnson the opportunity to make game-changing plays as he did in Week 1 against Fresno State, when he returned an interception for a touchdown.
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Gunnar Helm: Quinn Ewers' security blanket
Texas' tight end turned in the best performance of his four-year career , and he did it largely by giving Ewers an outlet to improvise.
Helm caught seven passes for 98 yards and a touchdown against the Wolverines. And he rarely appeared to be Ewers' first read.
Instead, Ewers looked his way when he was facing pressure. Five of Helm's seven receptions came after Ewers looked for him with a hand in his face or when he was forced out of the pocket.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Helm certainly makes for a big target. When Ewers is on the run, it helps that Helm is a familiar option, too, considering the Longhorns are relying on a receiving room full of transfers.
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Freshman wideout Ryan Wingo made the most noise Saturday among the first-year Longhorns, carrying a reverse for 55 yards down the left side. That was enough for him to leave Ann Arbor as the game's leading rusher. On defense, Simmons' sack marked the big highlight.
There were other noteworthy participants, though. Jerrick Gibson carried the ball 10 times for 36 yards and found the end zone. Ty'Anthony Smith played three snaps at linebacker, and cornerback Kobe Black saw some action, too, alongside starting punter Michael Kern.
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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Texas football film review: Quinn Ewers' poise under pressure; less blitz vs. Michigan
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