BYU Could Face Another Backup Quarterback Against Texas

Quinn Ewers left Saturday's game against Houston with an injury

Casey Lundquist | Oct 22, 2023

On Saturday, Texas escaped Houston with a 31-24 victory. The win came at a cost, however, as star quarterback Quinn Ewers left the game with a shoulder injury. At the end of the game, Ewers was seen on the sideline with a sling supporting his throwing shoulder. His status for the upcoming game against BYU is unknown.

If Ewers is unable to play next week, his absence would directly impact BYU's upcoming game at Texas. Ewers has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the conference this season with 1,915 yards and 13 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions. Texas is inexperienced at quarterback behind Ewers. Redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy won the backup job during Spring ball and Arch Manning has taken reps in practice as well. It was Murphy that came off the bench against Houston, making him the likely starter if Ewers can't go.

In four games played this season, Murphy is 4/8 for 47 yards passing. Those eight pass attempts are the only pass attempts of his collegiate career. Like most players on the Texas roster, Murphy was a coveted recruit coming out of high school. Murphy was a four-star recruit and he picked the Longhorns over competing offers from the biggest schools in the country like Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Florida State and many others.

Arch Manning is another name that could factor in. Manning, a true freshman and former five-star recruit, is the nephew of legendary quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Manning has not appeared in any games for the Longhorns this season. Manning's recruitment was one of the most nationally-followed recruitments ever.

BYU is no stranger to playing against backup quarterbacks. In the last two games against TCU and Texas Tech, backup quarterbacks have started against BYU. Should Ewers be sidelined due to injury, it would be the third consecutive game in which a backup quarterback has started against BYU.

Statistically speaking, BYU hasn't done anything special on either offense or defense this season. The Cougars rank 59th in scoring defense and 73rd in scoring offense. Turnovers, however, have played a major role in each of BYU's games against Power Five foes. BYU is +9 in turnover margin this season - that ranks third nationally. BYU's strength in turnover margin is the primary reason why the Cougars are 5-2 this season.

BYU is a major underdog going into this game at Texas. If the Cougars are going to pull off the upset at Texas, the BYU defense will need to force multiple turnovers again. That's where Texas' quarterback situation could come into play. In two games against backup quarterbacks this season, the BYU defense has forced seven turnovers.

Ewers' injury will be one of the main storylines to watch heading into this game.

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Published Oct 22, 2023

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.