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'I've been here before.' Texas QB Quinn Ewers remembers Ohio State past while crushing Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Quinn Ewers needed no introduction to the Big House. He’d seen it swallow up an opponent.

In Ewers' last trip here three years ago, he was Ohio State’s talented true freshman, buried on a quarterback depth chart behind C.J. Stroud and Kyle McCord.

Michigan beat the Buckeyes 42-27 that day, even though Stroud threw for 394 yards.

Ewers didn’t match Stroud’s passing stats, but he was masterful – and victorious – in No. 3 Texas’ 31-12 destruction of No. 9 Michigan on Saturday at Michigan Stadium. He threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns and became a maestro on third down, keeping drives alive with poise and precision.

“It’s definitely a little different when I was just sitting on the sideline (in 2021),” Ewers said, after Texas (2-0) snapped Michigan’s 29-game regular-season win streak.

“For sure, I understand how big of a moment (this is), just because I’ve been here before, and I know what the atmosphere was like.”

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Although the crowd “got pretty loud” in the first quarter, Ewers and the Longhorns took Michigan fans out of the game by establishing a dominant lead by halftime.

Ewers has become the face of Steve Sarkisian’s program. He’s a Longhorn, but he hasn’t forgotten what it meant to be a Buckeye during Michigan week.

“I understand the rivalry that Ohio State has with Michigan,” Ewers said. “To carry that along through the week, I understand how it goes. It’s definitely cool coming back here.”

And to win this time.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

Subscribe to read all of his columns. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfilteredand newsletter, SEC Unfiltered.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas: Quinn Ewers remembers Ohio State past while crushing Michigan