Steve Sarkisian evaluates Quinn Ewers' performance in Sugar Bowl defeat

For the first time in program history, Texas was a College Football Playoff participant. They drew the Sugar Bowl against Washington but wound up 13 yards short of advancing to the national championship game. Steve Sarkisian has brought the program a long way but certainly had to feel like the contest was in their hands.

Even so, Sarkisian was quite impressed with how his quarterback, Quinn Ewers, played and for multiple different reasons. He began with Ewers using his legs, finishing with 54 rushing yards on eight attempts. While Ewers is not thought to be a mobile quarterback, being able to escape pressure and big up chunk plays wound up being massive for Texas.

“I thought Quinn had a really gutsy performance tonight,” Sarkisian said. “Thought he utilized his legs extremely well. They were really trying to deploy and match routes and cover people. When that happened, he found some running lanes to use his legs to extend plays.”

Ewers was brought to Austin to thrive in Sarkisan’s passing attack and did such against Washington. A lot of batted balls came early but once Ewers settled in, he was dealing with Texas’ weapons. He wound up with 318 yards and a touchdown on the stat sheet.

However, when rewatching the tape, Sarkisian will see his quarterback making a lot of “big-time throws” in the fourth quarter.

“Thought he made some big-time throws in critical moments,” Sarkisian said. “Especially late in the ball game. Gave us a chance to win down 13 in the fourth quarter with not a lot of time left. We had the ball on the 12 with a chance to win the ball game. That doesn’t happen unless he’s playing his heart out and making some really big-time throws for us.”

The biggest throw of the night from Ewers had to come on the final drive, connecting with Jordan Whittington on a slot fade. A huge chunk for Texas at the time, it put them in a position to win the game. Two experienced players when it mattered the most.

As we know, Texas fell just a bit short and will spend the rest of the offseason thinking about the loss. But there is a good chance Ewers comes back for the 2024 season. Sarkisian has a ton of confidence in his quarterback and the Sugar Bowl performance will only up the level heading into the SEC.