Golden: With Jonathon Brooks out, it's time for a Quinn Ewers takeover at Texas

It’s up to Quinn Ewers.

The Texas offense remains one of the most talented units in the conference even without his backfield mate Jonathon Brooks, who was lost for the season Saturday night with torn ACL. If ever there was a time for Ewers to take a large step forward in his second year on campus, it’s now.

There are Big 12 hopes and a huge CFP dream on the line.

There was sadness at Monday’s media availability, not only because the Horns just lost arguably the best running back in the country, but because it’s obvious he is one of the most popular players in the locker room.

So Quinn, they want you on that wall. They need you on that wall. There are more than a few good men on an offense that has managed to score at least 30 points in all 10 games.

He was sore after his first game back, but threw in practice Monday and appears to be good to go against Iowa State.

Golden: Golden: At this point, mere wins aren't good enough for Texas' CFP hopes

Ewers was admittedly a bit rusty in his return, but he had best get lathered up and be ready to throw it 30 to 40 times over the rest of the regular season because I expect Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to do what comes naturally: throw his weight behind Ewers and put more passes into the game plan.

Texas' passing game could be peaking

Flinging it: Why not let Quinn Ewers loose? After all, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Ja’Tavion Sanders are a formidable three-headed unit of pass catchers and the offensive line has done a bang-up job of pass protection.

“I’ve just got to get it to the playmakers and they do everything else,” Ewers said Saturday. “They make me look good.”

When asked if he could adjust to 20 targets if Ewers had to throw it 50 times, Worthy said, "I'm a receiver. Of course I would say yes."

I asked Sarkisian on Monday if he was comfortable going Air Coryell — it’s a 1980s passing reference, look it up — if it came down to it.

“If the plan needs to be that we need to throw it around, we’re more than capable our offensive line is more than capable,” Sarkisian said after making sure to mention that every game is different and that adjustments will happen. “Quinn is more than capable obviously with our receiving corps, tight ends and things of that nature.”

While he isn’t about reveal any of his trade secrets, Sarkisian will have to refigure the division of labor to replace a player who accounted for nearly a third of the team’s offense. He loves to run the ball, but he's not going to replace 1,425 yards and 11 touchdowns overnight. Texas has talented options in CJ Baxter, Jaydon Blue and Keilan Robinson.

Bohls: Sarkisian obviously trusts his playmakers, and No. 7 Texas has lots of them

With that said, this is Ewers’ opportunity to take the ball and become the focal point of this offense if needs him to be. And it could happen. It wouldn't be smart to assume plug-and-play dynamic is happening with these other backs.

While coaches strive for their offenses to show balance, it’s time for Sarkisian to test that Ewers shoulder that the quarterback says is coming along in the healing process though it’s not 100%.

More: Knee injury will sideline Texas running back Jonathon Brooks for remainder of the season

The Horns are No. 7 in the country, but it would be shocking to see if they could ground-chuck their way to a Big 12 championship, especially with Baxter’s struggles to stay healthy. With Brooks no longer in the mix, the onus has to be on Ewers, who won’t shrink from this challenge.

Of the teams in CFP contention, Texas and No. 3 Michigan were the ones that that featured running backs as the top option. Blake Corum is the bell cow in Michigan and Brooks was the bell cow here.

It wasn’t Sark’s plan at first, but if these runners prove ineffective, the Horns may have to take on the look of more quarterback-centric offenses we’re seeing with Ohio State, Georgia, Washington and Oregon. None of those teams have a 1,000-yard rusher like Texas had, but their quarterbacks have put up some big passing numbers.

It was always Ewers’ offense on paper, but the Horns had the benefit of balance and Brooks, who took a lot of pressure off the quarterback.

We’re about to find out if Ewers can light it up with this bevy of weapons. He’s done it before but the stakes have never been higher than these next three weeks.

Texas A&M bids adieu to Jimbo Fisher

So long, Jimbo: Don’t shed any tears for former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher because he can go purchase an island in the Caribbean and get caught up on his reading with that $76 million he’s pocketing. Meanwhile, the folks at Texas A&M have to feel as if they’re in the Twilight Zone because the man they thought would lead them to an SEC takeover was not much better than his predecessor Kevin Sumlin, as it turns out.

Fisher joined former Texas boss Tom Herman as the latest in-state coaches to get run out of town after his team scored a 50-plus in his final game.

More: Texas women cruise past Liberty on milestone night for senior guard Rori Harmon

He finished 47-25 in six seasons with a 27-21 conference record while Sumlin was 51-26 and 25-23 in conference.

So, what next?

There will be no end to suitors to a real plum gig. The Aggies will pay top dollar. Shoot, they will overpay to get the right guy. If I’m athletic director Ross Bjork, I would put in two calls. The first would go to Fisher’s former defensive coordinator Mike Elko, whose Duke team was the talk of the early season before quarterback Riley Leonard was hampered with a bad ankle.

Elko knows those College Station streets and already has the respect of many of the players who were underclassmen when he was here.

A second call would go out to  UTSA's Jeff Traylor, who grew up in East Texas and made his recruiting bones as part of Charlie Strong’s staff that brought in top-10 recruiting classes here. He’s 37-13 at UTSA in three-plus seasons, which includes the 2023 team that’s 7-3 overall and 6-0 in the AAC.

He’s a natural for this job, but the Aggies are likely in search of splashier names, assuming they haven't learned from this latest failure. Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin or Washington’s Kalen DeBoer have all had their teams ranked in the top 10 this season and have enjoyed more exposure though Traylor is just as capable.

He may not have a huge résumé like some of the others, but I like Elko for this gig.

Dak, Cowboys will be tested in time

Eyes on the Cowboys: Are the Dallas Cowboys really that good or are the New York Giants a huge piece of bad Laffy Taffy?

Dak Prescott was having a decent year before the Giants rolled over by allowing 392 yards and four touchdowns to the Dallas quarterback in Sunday’s 49-17 humbling. He has 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions over the last three games. He hasn’t played this well since the 2021 season when he threw 37 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.

What remains to be answered is if the Cowboys can put together a game like this against a would-be playoff team. That 42-10 no-show at San Francisco is still in the minds of the doubters. It’s hard to believe that was the same team that so thoroughly dominated the Rams and Giants in the last two games.

At 6-3, they’re going to be a playoff team and should be battle-tested if they can survive some dubious opponents coming up. They will be heavily favored in their next two games — Carolina and Washington on Turkey Day — are imminently winnable but that December gantlet will tell us what they’re made of.

Philadelphia, Buffalo, Miami and Detroit represent the league’s toughest December schedule. Those team have a combined record of 26-10 and three of the December four lead their divisions.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas quarterback must step up to keep Big 12, CFP hopes alive