The Longhorns jumped all over the Gators and cruised to a victory.
The No. 5 Texas Longhorns took care of business coming out of the bye week, dominating an outmatched Florida Gators team and turning the game into a boat race in the 49-17 win. The offense left at least two scores on the board in the first half and still managed to take a 35-0 lead into halftime, setting up the starters to get a long break in the second half thanks to the explosive offense.
Quinn Ewers can still deal
One of the biggest questions coming out of the Georgia and Vanderbilt games was the play of quarterback Quinn Ewers. The former Heisman front runner struggled in those two contests but returned to form against an outmanned Florida defense. Ewers completed his first five passes and opened the game 7-of-10 passing for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He came out of the game in the third quarter with a decisive lead after throwing for 333 yards and a career-high five touchdowns.
Perhaps more important was not the final number, but the way Ewers looked in command of the offense and found multiple receivers in space. Depth of target was a big point of conversation, but that is less important when you can get your playmakers in position and let them win man-to-man.
The run defense is something to watch in the coming weeks
While the Gators’ offense didn’t really look all that impressive throughout the game, they did not abandon the run and it was working for them. Florida finished the game with 206 sack-adjusted run yards for 5.1 yards per carry. Third-year running back Ja’Kobi Jackson, a 5’11, 209-pound battering ram managed to pick up 116 yards on 19 attempts and a touchdown, averaging more than six yards per carry. His backup, freshman Jadan Baugh, chipped in 88 yards of his own, with the Gators finishing just shy of 200 yards as a team.
If the Longhorns cannot handle a physical running attack, the coming weeks could be a struggle to remain in the CFP picture, with Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas A&M all trying to dominate the ground game.
Chunk plays will come
The Texas offense has struggled with explosiveness in the last two games and got back to their big-play ways against Florida. Texas finished the game with 441 of their 562 total offensive yards coming on plays of 10 yards or more, including 291 yards in explosive passing plays. While the offense pushed the ball downfield well, a lot of their big plays came due to the individual effort of offensive players, with 277 of their 352 total passing yards coming after the catch.
Having athletes who can win one-on-one matchups in open space alleviates the pressure on your running game and keeps the defenses relaxed in the box. Isaiah Bond, Jaydon Blue, and Quintrevion Wisner are all players that turned short passes into long explosive plays, giving Texas options for creating space against opposing defenses.