Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns got off to a slow start Saturday in the Cotton Bowl. The three drives in the first quarter ended in an interception and two punts. Ewers looked wild at times, overthrowing receivers on some plays and totally off on others.
How much was the wind a factor?
If you were at the game, you felt the wind blowing in from the South. In the Cotton Bowl, the wind blew from the Oklahoma half of the stadium towards the Texas half.
The average sustained winds around Fair Park on Saturday were about 13 mph, with gusts from 17 mph to 26 mph. Certainly enough to affect a football.
A little known fact about Dallas is that Big D is actually windier than the Windy City of Chicago. Dallas’ average winds are 10.5 mph, while Chicago’s average winds are 9.9 mph. Dallas also has more wind than Austin.
Texas played into or against the wind in the first and third quarters and with the wind in the second and fourth quarters. The Sooners were reversed.
There were 34 points scored in the game with the wind, 31 by Texas and three by OU. There were three points scored, by Texas, against the wind.
There were nine Ewers passes that didn’t connect, eight incompletions and one interception. Six of the nine, or 66%, were against the wind.
This isn’t an excuse for Ewers, who definitely had some rust issues going on. But it could be a reason for some of the junior’s struggles. And a reason for Longhorns fans to hold off on pushing the panic button.