Quinn Ewers was that guy. He was the No. 1 recruit, the first perfectly graded quarterback in the 247Sports Composite since Vince Young. His initial decommitment from Texas in 2020 as a high school recruit portended the end of the Tom Herman era.

The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning has developed behind Ewers for the past two seasons and now has to shoulder sky-high expectations and the responsibility of being one of the most famous starting quarterbacks in college.

Texas QB Arch Manning is expected to uphold the Longhorns' newly-established standard during his first college football season as the unquestioned starter in Austin.

But the Longhorns — specifically, guard Jordan Pope — refused to give up the lead. Pope, a 6-foot-2 junior who transferred to Texas from Oregon State in the offseason, scored 19 of his team-high 27 points in the second half.

Jordan Pope scored 27 points and Texas blunted Oklahoma’s comeback bid to win a matchup of teams that came in winless in SEC play.