Sarkisian praises Ewers for demonstrating his 'true character' through his impressive bounce-back performance.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Quinn Ewers found his rhythm on Saturday night, guiding Texas to a hard-fought 27-24 victory over Vanderbilt, much to the relief of his coaches and teammates. This performance came after a tough week for Ewers, who had been benched during the first half of Texas' 30-15 home defeat to Georgia. Compounding matters, a false report circulated on social media claiming he would opt out for the remainder of the season to prepare for the NFL draft.
“If he plays like that for the rest of the year, we're going to be just fine,” said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. Ewers completed 17 consecutive passes at one point, finishing the game with 228 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions—both of which occurred on tipped passes. The first interception led to Vanderbilt’s opening touchdown, putting the Commodores up 7-0 in the first quarter.
After that rocky start, Ewers rebounded, leading the Longhorns on three scoring drives that culminated in touchdown passes, including two to DeAndre Moore Jr. “It felt normal for us,” Moore said. “We had a really great week of practice, so I expected it.”
Sarkisian noted that Ewers has shown resilience throughout the season, especially after dealing with an oblique injury that caused him to miss parts of three games. Reflecting on last week's disastrous first half against Georgia, where the Bulldogs jumped to a 20-0 lead, Sarkisian had briefly replaced Ewers with Arch Manning. “You can’t get worse than how it went for him last week,” Sarkisian said. “His ability to bounce back showed true character.”
Despite Texas (7-1, 3-1) not being able to secure the win until Moore recovered an onside kick with just 44 seconds remaining, the Longhorns' success marks their ninth consecutive road victory dating back to last season. “These weeks are not easy when you’re emotionally invested in a game like last week,” Sarkisian explained. “This was a culture win and a toughness win for us. We knew we’d need 60 minutes against a good football team.”
Although it was technically an away game, FirstBank Stadium was largely filled with Texas fans for this matchup, the first between the teams since 1928 and Texas' inaugural SEC road game.
The game started poorly for Ewers, who threw an interception on the opening drive after a pass was batted down. Vanderbilt capitalized, scoring an 18-yard touchdown soon after. “There were no ‘poor me’s going on,” Ewers said. “We just kept playing.”
Sarkisian praised Ewers’ maturity, especially given his past struggles. “Doubt can be a killer, but I didn’t see any doubt in him. He came right back, believed in his preparation, and executed at a high level,” he said, crediting Ewers and his teammates for keeping his confidence high throughout the week.
Moore, who caught six passes for 97 yards, described how Ewers audibled during a play, leading to a touchdown. “He has that ability, especially in this offense. Quinn is the president, and he can change the play on the fly,” Moore noted.
Ewers expressed his eagerness to return to action after the loss to Georgia. “The credit goes to everybody for not getting down after that loss,” he said. “We came out here and played our brand of football, especially in the first half.”
Though Texas struggled with penalties in the second half and saw a second interception lead to another Vanderbilt touchdown, Ewers remained optimistic. “We did a good job of just continuing to play,” he said.
Regarding the earlier false report about his season status, Ewers remarked, “It was pretty random. I didn’t know where they got that from, but it was definitely weird.”