How the Texas Longhorns graded out in their 31-24 win over the Houston Cougars

Texas football had a real whew! kind of Saturday, holding off a game Houston team that was coming off a wild Hail Mary win over West Virginia the previous week, surviving without injured quarterback Quinn Ewers for the fourth quarter and riding its running backs and opportunistic defense for a had-to-have-it 31-24 win on the road.

How the Longhorns graded out:

Quarterbacks: B

Steve Sarkisian said after the game that Quinn Ewers is dealing with a shoulder injury. We don't need a reminder to know how a Ewers shoulder injury can impact this team. We'll know more about Ewers' status for the BYU game on Monday. If he can't go, then it'll be up to Maalik Murphy, who was more of a hand-off quarterback against Houston. Ewers was steady and efficient (23-of-29 for 211 yards, 2 TDs and no picks) and flashed on a couple of throws, most noticeably that pretty 42-yarder to Xavier Worthy in stride for a touchdown. Not surprisingly, he was injured when he absorbed a big hit from a UH linebacker trying to squeeze out first-down yards on a third-down scramble. His running has been an important component of his game this season. He paid the price on Saturday.

Go figure: Ewers went over the 4,000-yard mark for his career and completed 14 straight passes at one point.

Season average: B+ (Rice B, Alabama A+, Wyoming C, Baylor A-, Kansas A, Oklahoma B, Houston B)

Running backs: B+

Jonathon Brooks' string of 100-yard games came to an end at four games, and his run of games with a rushing score ended at three. But he enjoyed one of his best all-around performances as a Longhorn: 20 carries for 99 yards and a team-high eight targets for a team-high eight catches for 51 yards. Texas looked his way to settle things down in the ground game and also as a safe check-down option. Texas' running backs room shined in other ways, too. CJ Baxter (6-42-1) scored the game-winner, and Savion Red produced a touchdown and two fourth-down conversions on his three wildcat snaps. The running game certainly has had bigger days this season, but that spread-the-wealth impact produced an excellent game.

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Go figure: Brooks produced more than 150 total yards for the third straight game.

Season average: B (Rice C, Alabama C, Wyoming A-, Baylor A-, Kansas A, Oklahoma B, Houston B+)

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Wide receivers: B

Houston's secondary effectively put the clamps on Texas receivers, who beyond Xavier Worthy were generally quiet. Adonai Mitchell scored Texas' first catch of the day on a 14-yard catch, but that also was his only catch of the game. He ended up with as many receptions as Bert Auburn. Jordan Whittington (2-10) was a non-factor. As receivers go, that was it; the other pass-catchers were running backs, tight ends and kickers. Worthy's 42-yard touchdown was awfully pretty; Ewers hit him in perfect stride for the score, and five of Worthy's six receptions went for either a touchdown or first down.

Go figure: Worthy now has 25 career touchdown catches in 30 games played.

Season average: B+ (Rice B, Alabama A, Wyoming B, Baylor B, Kansas A-, Oklahoma B, Houston B, Houston B)

Tight ends: C

Ja'Tavion Sanders, who was up in the air with an injury, started and looked like he might have a big day after his first catch, a 23-yarder. But that was just about it for the Texas tight ends. Neither Sanders (2-29) nor Gunnar Helm (2-13) factored much into the game plan, plus Helm wiped out a 10-yard run from Baxter at the end of the first quarter with a holding penalty.

Go figure: Sanders has the third-most receiving yards on the team this year.

Season average: B- (Rice A-, Alabama A, Wyoming D, Baylor A-, Kansas D, Oklahoma B, Houston C)

The offensive line: B

The good news: Jake Majors was back at center, starting two weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain early on against Oklahoma. But he wasn't at full strength, wasn't moving at full speed and he gutted his way through Saturday's win. Assuming he gets stronger the more he plays, maybe the front line will be able to get Texas past any potential time without Ewers, if he misses time. Ewers was sacked three times and Brooks fell just short of a fifth straight 100-yard game. It was an effective day for the running backs as a whole, though, and Texas was 3-for-5 on fourth downs, one of the misses coming on a fake field goal.

Go figure: Texas produced four plays that went 20 or more yards.

Season average: B (Rice C, Alabama A, Wyoming B-, Baylor B, Kansas A, Oklahoma C, Houston B)

The defensive line: B

The Texas pass rush continues to misfire, but the front's performance against the run stifled Houston's offense. The Cougars ended up with just 14 rushing yards, and the inability to get it done on short runs played a role in Dana Holgorsen's decision to pass it on fourth-and-inches at the 10-yard line at the end, not run it. Ethan Burke and Alfred Collins each had sacks, and Vernon Broughton recovered a fumble. There were no quarterback hurries, though, and Donovan Smith carved up the secondary for 378 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Go figure: The 14 rushing yards allowed was Texas' best defensive effort of the season.

Season average: B+ (Rice A, Alabama A, Wyoming B, Baylor A, Kansas B, Oklahoma C, Houston B)

Linebackers: B+

Jaylan Ford, the Big 12 preseason defensive player of the year, forced one of the two turnovers when he sacked Smith and the ball popped loose. He finished with six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Anthony Hill Jr. was flagged for a late hit, though replays appeared to show him being pushed forward into a Houston receiver on the sideline by a teammate. Still, it was Hill's second straight game with a 15-yarder. Hill finished with five tackles and half a tackle for loss.

Go figure: Ford's 2.5 tackles for loss were a single-game career high.

Season average: B (Rice B, Alabama A-, Wyoming C+, Baylor B+, Kansas B, Oklahoma C-, Houston B+)

Defensive backs: C

It was a rough afternoon for the secondary, which was playing without starting cornerback Ryan Watts and starting safety Jalen Catalon and didn't have Jahdae Barron for the entire first half. Smith caught fire in the second quarter and finished with 378 yards through the air, though he never really got untracked as a runner, which was a concern heading into the game. Safety Michael Taaffe led the team with eight tackles, and he had an important interception in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and broke up a pass later in the fourth. But he also was burned for a 51-yard catch and run, too. Kitan Crawford was active as was Derek Williams Jr., who broke up a pass and had a nice open-field stop. Texas needs to get healthy on the back end, though.

Go figure: Taaffe's interception was the first of the season for him.

Season average: B+ (Rice A, Alabama A, Wyoming A-, Baylor B, Kansas B, Oklahoma C, Houston C)

Special teams: B+

Now we know Ryan Sanborn can throw the ball, not just punt it, and that Bert Auburn can catch the ball, not just kick it. But wouldn't it have been better if we didn't know? Steve Sarkisian's failed fake field goal opened the door for Houston, which rattled off three straight touchdown drives and made things scary for the Longhorns. If Auburn had made that 44-yard kick, it would have been a 24-7 game. Sanborn was money, though, averaging 52 yards per punt on three tries, and Keilan Robinson set Texas up with great starting position after a pair of 45- and 33-yard kickoff returns. And a tip of the cap to Will Stone, whose consistent kickoffs into the end zone took dangerous kick returner Michael Golden out of the equation for most of the day.

Go figure: Sanborn had two punts of 50 or more yards.

Season average: B (Rice A, Alabama B, Wyoming B+, Baylor D, Kansas D, Oklahoma B, Houston B+)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football vs. Houston report card: How UT graded