Before each Ohio State game, Eleven Warriors catches up with a media member who covers the opposing team to get his or her perspective on the Buckeyes' upcoming opponent.
#5 Texas
Longhorns
This week, we're joined by Danny Davis, who covers Texas for the Austin Statesman. Davis helped us break down the top storylines for the upcoming College Football Playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas, as we discussed the narrative surrounding Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns' struggles rushing the football and more.
Texas seemingly was on its way to a convincing win against Arizona State in the first half, then madness ensued which obviously led to a double overtime game. Now that the dust has settled, what was your impression on why Arizona State gave Texas fits despite the Longhorns having a clear talent advantage?
Danny Davis: Give Arizona State its due. Cam Skattebo is that dude and this was a team that won a conference championship. That being said, I think Arizona State took advantage of a gassed Texas defense that was on the field for 97 total plays during the Peach Bowl. Meanwhile, Texas ran 60 plays. Texas struggling to run the ball and drawing its fair share of self-inflicting penalties didn't help matters.
The Longhorns’ running game has had its fair share of struggles and have forced Texas to be one-dimensional at times. What has been the issue in your opinion of getting the ground game going?
Davis: For the most part, Texas has been fine on the ground. Quintrevion Wisner hit 1,000 yards this season, Jaydon Blue has exceeded 700 yards during his junior year and Texas did rush for nearly 300 yards in its first-round playoff game. While the Arizona State game was an aberration in my opinion, it will be hard to ignore the struggles in the Georgia games this week. In most cases, you could say that the majority of the teams that Texas will face aren't Georgia, but you can't do that here because while Ohio State isn't Georgia, the Buckeyes appear to be better when it comes to run defense.
Quinn Ewers against his old team will probably grab the majority of the headlines this week. What do you think of the matchup for Quinn, and what have you made of his season on the field?
Davis: At this point, the Quinn conversation is a little tiresome. He will never be the quarterback that some unrealistic Texas fans want him to be, but he's been fine. He has come up big in a few games this season (Michigan and Arizona State), but he hasn't been able to single-handedly carry the Longhorns when the rest of his team is struggling and some of his mistakes have been mind-boggling. He isn't Vince Young or Colt McCoy, but he's a top-10 quarterback in school history and he will quickly move into the top-3 conversation with two more wins this month.
A follow-up on Quinn, it’s not often that a CFP team’s backup quarterback may be more popular than the starter. How has Ewers handled the outside noise of some fans surely clamoring for Arch Manning to either be the full-time starter or see more reps than he has?
Davis: "Some fans" is putting it kindly. I think this has worked because Quinn, Arch and Steve Sarkisian have all handled this like adults. Steve has been unwavering in his stance that Quinn is QB1, Quinn has kept a business-like approach to everything (although he did break character to get off a joke about the matter in one of his Dr Pepper commercials) and Arch has said all of the right things whenever a microphone has been shoved in his face. Much to the chagrin of us click chasers in the media, there has not been a quarterback controversy in Austin.
Defensively, Texas’ defensive line seems to be the biggest strength. Even though some Ohio State fans are less than pleased that Colin Simmons won freshman of the year over Jeremiah Smith, Simmons seems to be one of several dominant pieces on that unit. What do they need to do to slow down Ohio State’s offense?
Davis: The Longhorns are going to need to get after Will Howard and force the veteran quarterback to make some mistakes. Getting some three-and-outs would also be helpful because they can't afford a long day at the office like they had in the Arizona State game.
Speaking of the Buckeyes’ offense, Jeremiah Smith has been a nightmare to guard for playoff teams. How do you imagine Texas will attempt to cover him?
Davis: If I knew how to cover 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, I wouldn't be chatting with you for free! But the Texas DBs play a physical brand of football and cause a lot of turnovers, but Jahdae Barron and company will have their hands full with this receiving corps.
What are some other keys to the game in your opinion?
Davis: Aside from the cliches about penalties and turnovers, Texas must address its issues on special teams. In the Peach Bowl, the Longhorns scored on an electric 75-yard punt return by Silas Bolden, but a running into the kicker penalty and two missed field goals helped Arizona State stick around. Texas has had issues all year on special teams, and Ohio State will make them pay if they continue to struggle in that aspect of the game.
Finally, this will now be the first of three meetings between Ohio State and Texas for now three straight years, which might start a mini rivalry between teams that don’t see each other often. How do you envision this CFP contest playing out, and what is your score prediction?
Davis: I had Oregon beating both Ohio State and Texas in my CFP bracket, so anyone reading this should probably ignore everything I say. But I'll take Texas in a close game.
