AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Quinn Ewers passed for 333 yards and five touchdowns and No. 5 Texas rolled over struggling Florida 49-17 on Saturday, two days after third-year Gators coach Billy Napier was given a public statement of support from the school’s athletic director.

Ewers connected on open passes to Matthew Golden and Gunnar Helm for touchdowns in the first quarter. Quintrevion Wisner took a screen pass 50 yards for a score before Ewers connected with Golden again for a 32-yard strike in the second.

Texas (8-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 5 CFP ) led 35-0 at halftime.

Coach Steve Sarkisian had said the Longhorns had been struggling to find their rhythm offensively in recent weeks, but they dialed up big play after big play against the Gators. Texas had 12 plays of more than 20 yards.

“The explosiveness of the offense showed back up today,” Sarkisian said.

Wide receiver Isaiah Bond returned to the lineup after missing a game with an ankle injury and had a 44-yard run on a misdirection play and a 34-yard touchdown off a screen pass.

“We want people to feel our speed. We want people to fear our speed,” Sarkisian said.

Ewers’ easy day could have been even bigger if not for a couple of deep throws dropped by receivers. He was replaced by Arch Manning in the third quarter after his fifth touchdown pass.

The five TDs were a career high for Ewers and one shy of a school record. The big numbers on a short afternoon were a confidence boost for a quarterback who was briefly benched two games ago in a loss to Georgia and who has been playing with a nagging abdomen injury.

“Who wouldn’t be confident after that performance by the whole offense?” Ewers said. “I’m just trying to get the ball in the playmakers’ hands, and they make all the plays.”

Florida (4-5, 2-4) started Yale transfer Aidan Warner at quarterback because freshman DJ Lagway is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Warner, who was third team when the season started, was 12 of 25 passing for 132 yards and two interceptions.

“It got out of hand in the first half. You looked up and the game was over,” Napier said. “Aidan fought his tail off out there today. … You go into the game understanding that you’re playing with your third quarterback, and you know you have to defend them, and we did not do that.”

The takeaway

Florida: Getting routed on the road will only raise questions about athletic director Scott Stricklin’s decision to give Napier such a public statement of support for another season. The loss drops Napier’s record to 15-19. Tough, close losses to rivals Tennessee and Georgia had suggested the program was improving, even if not winning, but the Gators were overwhelmed by Texas.

“I’m thankful for our players,” Napier said of the vote of confidence. “I do think when you look at the roster as a whole, we have a ton of young talent that I think will continue to develop. They’re learning, they’re going through this experience, and I think that will prove beneficial in the future.”

Texas: After allowing 11 sacks in the previous two games, the offensive line protected Ewers well most of the day. He was sacked on the opening drive but was seldom harassed again. Some quick reads and short passes also kept the pressure off. Texas wants to avoid hits on Ewers that could aggravate his abdomen strain.

Poll implications

Texas put together the kind of all-around impressive performance that can be important for late-season positioning in the rankings and for playoff implications. The Longhorns should move up after No. 4 Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech.

Setting the tone

The game was still 0-0 when Texas converted a fourth-and-1 from its own 24 and got the first down by inches. The drive ended with the game’s first touchdown.

“I believe in our players,” Sarkisian said. “I really didn’t blink. I was going for it.”

Up next

Florida hosts No. 14 LSU next Saturday.

Texas plays at Arkansas next Saturday.

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AUSTIN — Quinn Ewers has been far from his best in recent weeks, and many Texas Longhorns fans have suddenly turned on him as a result. While some criticisms have been warranted, it seems as if these short-sighted fans have quickly forgotten what Ewers has done to help lead the program back to relevance over the last two seasons.

He put any doubts to rest — and hopefully temporarily silenced the social media know-it-alls — by delivering a dominant performance in Saturday’s 49-17 win over the Florida Gators in Austin.

Against a Florida defense that intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck three times the week prior, Ewers finished 19 of 27 passing for 333 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Arch Manning took his place with 7:03 left in the third quarter with Texas up 42-3.

“It does a lot for the confidence, for sure,” Ewers said. “Going out there and executing the way that we did as a whole, who wouldn’t be confident after that performance from the whole offense?”

Ewers ended a streak of four straight appearances with an interception, which dated back to the win over UTSA on Sept. 14 when he suffered the oblique injury that sidelined him for two games.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised Ewers for coming into the game with a “real sense of confidence.”

“I thought Quinn played fantastic today, and I thought he played great two weeks ago against Vanderbilt. He had a little bit of bad luck with some tip balls, but he was on point again today. We had, unfortunately, a couple drops for him, but he was on point. He really navigated the offense, as much as it was just throwing the ball. I just felt like our rhythm, our tempo, the intent in which we were playing the game, the ball was going to the right, guys on time. They were catchable balls where they could run with it. So I just think he’s coming into this game with a real sense of confidence.”

Ewers was one passing touchdown away from breaking a school record before heading to the bench. Instead of allowing him to get it, Sarkisian chose differently to avoid upsetting the football gods.

“I just tend not to worry about that kind of stuff,” Sarkisian said. “I think records are meant to be broken when they’re meant to be broken. I don’t think you should try to break records. I think that’s when the football gods get you. And I try to stay on the good side of those guys.”

Texas will visit the Arkansas Razorbacks next week.

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AUSTIN — The Texas Longhorns began the second half of Saturday’s matchup against the Florida Gators up 35-0 before the team was finally hit with some bad luck.

Texas starting right tackle Cameron Williams suffered a lower-body injury and left the field with help from the training staff while being unable to put weight on his right side.

Trevor Goosby took his place and immediately committed a false start. But on the following play, Quinn Ewers found Isaiah Bond for a 34-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 42-0.

Despite the way the injury looked, Williams was back out there for Texas’ next drive.

Longhorns offensive line coach Kyle Floord said prior to the season that the team has a ton of confidence in Williams, who has garnerned NFL-ready hype during the 2024 campaign.

“Cam [Williams] comes into camp as our starting right tackle and we expect that he’s going to play really well,” Flood said. “He had the opportunity to start the Kansas State game last season. Now you can’t compare one start to seasons of experience, but we have a lot of confidence in him. He’s had a really good off-season, he’s changed his body significantly. I think that’s going to allow him really to maximize his potential.”

Williams has played in 29 games while making eight career starts.

After the season-opening win over Colorado State, Williams was named the SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week after the Longhorns took down the Rams 52-0.

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Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Jake Majors, Kelvin Banks Jr. Won’t ‘Try Too Much’ Ahead of Florida Matchup

MORE: Texas Longhorns LB Anthony Hill Jr. Named Semifinalist for Major Award

MORE: Steve Sarkisian Comments on Departure of Texas Longhorns WR Johntay Cook II

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