Ewers throws 3 TD passes to help No. 4 Texas roll over Colorado State 52-0 in opener

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Quinn Ewers passed for 260 yards and three touchdowns and No. 4 Texas rolled past Colorado State 52-0 on Saturday in the opener for both teams.

Ewers connected with Matthew Golden for a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter, one of them a no-look toss, and had another strike to Isaiah Bond as the Longhorns built a 31-0 lead by halftime.

“We (still) have to play better,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I don’t think there’s not a coach in America that going to sit in his press conference today an say ‘Hey, we’re good enough to go win a championship’ … (But) this was a good start.”

Texas had its first season-opening shutout since 2004.

A big question for Texas heading into this season was just how quickly Ewers and Texas would find their rhythm in a passing attack that lost the top five receivers from the 2023 Big 12 championship team. Texas joined the Southeastern Conference this year.

Golden transferred from Houston and Bond from Alabama, and Ewers and his rebuilt receiving corps easily carved up the Rams. After a slow start that included a stalled drive and an interception on Texas’ first three possessions, Texas scored 24 points in the second quarter.

Ewers spread passes around 10 different receiving and had 248 yards passing by halftime. As for the no-look He completed 20 of 27 passes before leaving the game for Arch Manning midway through the third quarter.

Manning’s first drive started with a 40-yard pass to Johntay Cook II. It ended with Manning’s first career TD pass, a scrambling 5-yard toss to Silas Bolden, another transfer from Oregon State, that made it 45-0.

Texas scored touchdowns on all seven drives inside the Colorado State 30.

“We need two quarterbacks to throw to all those guys,” Ewers said. “A lot of guys got to showcase what they’ve got. ... I think we played at a high level.”

The takeaway

Colorado State: The Rams have an elite receiver in Tory Horton, but he was shut down by a smothering Texas defense. Horton had five catches for 31 yards and the only deep ball thrown his way was intercepted. Colorado State did not cross the Texas 49 until the final two minutes, then threw an interception in the end zone.

“You have to go out and make plays and do the things you need to do, and we didn’t do that in the first half,” Rams coach Jay Norvell said. “We had some drops on third down, we couldn’t stop them a couple of times and we turned the ball over.”

Texas: Coming off last season’s appearance in the College Football Playoff, Texas has its highest season-opening ranking since 2010 and Saturday was a breeze against the overmatched Rams. The lofty ranking and expectations will be put to the test next week at No. 9 Michigan, and later when the Longhorns eventually start their first Southeastern Conference schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

“We know what we’re going into next week. We’ve got to be more physical,” Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr said. “We’re going into a fistfight.”

Texas running game

Texas’ depth as running back was strained with two season-ending injuries to tailbacks C.J. Baxter and Christian Kirk in training camp. New starter Jaydon Blue ran for 63 yards Saturday before leaving the game with cramps. Freshman Jerrick Gibson had a team high 67 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

Colorado State: Hosts Northern Colorado on Sept. 7

Texas: At No. 9 Michigan on Sept. 7 in the first matchup between the two historic powerhouse programs since the 2004 Rose Bowl.

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