Looking at the positives and where Texas can improve heading into Tuscaloosa

There are positives and negatives to take away from just about every game. The 37-10 win over Rice is no different for the Longhorns.

While the defense dominated in fine fashion, the offense too often sputtered.

The Texas D forced three turnovers (two really, the third one was more of a gift).

Jaylan Ford single-handedly, literally, made one of them and he already looks like he’s in mid-season form. The Texas front and secondary were all over anything the Rice offense attempted.

But the Texas offense…

Rice was able to pressure Quinn Ewers early and often. And what’s more concerning, Ewers didn’t exactly react with aplomb.

He missed multiple deep balls, didn’t step into a couple of throws, and basically didn’t look much better than he did a year ago. That’s a potential long-term problem for the Horns.

We said all offseason that this team’s ceiling in many regards would be tied to Ewers’ capacity to be a great distributor of the ball. He didn’t do that at a high level yesterday, no matter what some of the stats might suggest.

Ewers did not complete a pass further than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. And he did not connect on three long balls, all of which Texas receivers had clearly gotten behind the defense. Ewers left two of them well short and threw another out of bounds.

Quinn was not helped by the play of the interior offensive line. Whether it was a confusing scheme that Rice deployed or poor play from guard-to-guard along the offensive line, Texas routinely allowed pressure to get to its quarterback.

At least the run game appeared to ramp up with the addition of Neto Umeozulu to the offensive line on the left side. Neto and Kelvin Banks together on the left side give the Horns a tantalizingly strong run blocking duo.

But if the Horns can’t protect the passer and if Ewers can’t step into throws or make the wide open ones down the field, the Texas offense will continue to sputter.

And that’s not something Texas can afford, not if the Horns want to win the Big 12 championship or win 10 games.

Now, it wasn’t all bad. There were some things to like.

On the plus side, Ewers performed relatively well in the RPO game and even had a TD pass dropped by Jonathon Brooks.

But the biggest sign of growth for him from a year ago was his willingness to use his legs to get a first down. Twice Ewers stepped up into the pocket and converted a third and long with an escape straight up the middle. I think he did that once all of last year, a key play in the win against Kansas State.

Ewers has the tools and he’s getting better.

But Horns fans expect much more. And much more is what it will take to beat Alabama and win the Big 12.

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