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Quinn Ewers delivered when it mattered most

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•01/01/25•

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Quinn Ewers
Quinn Ewers (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

A do-or-die play ended Texas’ season one year ago.

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Quinn Ewers rolled right and tried to hit Adonai Mitchell, but the pass was off target and the Texas Longhorns’ saw their 2023 campaign end at the hands of the Washington Huskies in the last four-team College Football Playoff.

In the 365 days since Texas lost the Sugar Bowl, there have been a number of high highs and low lows for Ewers. He carried lofty Heisman expectations and dealt with constant calls for his popular backup to unseat him. He missed time again due to injury, was a significant factor behind Texas’ first loss of the season, and had games where he didn’t do much to help Texas win.

What Ewers did in those 365 days gave him another chance to succeed in a do-or-die moment in a College Football Playoff game. The Longhorns were backed up to fourth and 13 in the first overtime of the Peach Bowl against Arizona State and needed to reach the line to gain or they would see their season end.

All eyes focused on Ewers, and with good reason. Texas called a play that asked him to read the coverage and decide whether to go for the deep pass to Matthew Golden or else find another receiver ahead of the line to gain. Ewers maneuvered the protection, took the snap, then hit Golden in the end zone for the most pivotal pass of his career.

Ewers delivered, and because he did, the Longhorns are in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.

“We guessed a little with the call thinking they might come after us, and we guessed right, and he did a great job of getting the protection right and making the play,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said.

The Peach Bowl was a microcosm of Ewers’ time at Texas. There were immediate successes, difficulties, and then even a moment where a peculiar play-call that had him passing deep late in the game saw him intercepted. Arizona State would score the tying field goal as a result of that pick.

After that interception? Ewers was 11-for-14 for 161 yards and two touchdowns plus a critical two-point conversion. Ewers finished 20-for-30 for 322 yards and three touchdowns along with his interception. He also added a rushing score in the fourth quarter.

“Quinn’s a G, man,” Sarkisian said. “He is. Like I know he doesn’t always exude that, like in his body language and his demeanor because I say it about him about this all the time, like he’s a steady sea. He never gets really high. There’s flashes of that emotion. He never gets too low.

“Sure, there’s moments of frustration that we all have, but the guy recalibrates so quickly, and he’s so calm that it allows me to lean on him, you know, in the most critical moments, especially tonight, man.”

The Longhorns only had the ball for 60 plays on New Year’s Day as Arizona State controlled the time of possession battle, hanging onto the ball for almost 40 minutes. That means the ball was in Ewers hands for 30 pass attempts, but also three sacks and three other scrambles. Texas trusted Ewers to play hero ball to win the game. There was also no other option, as the rushing game netted 53 yards on 30 carries.

Sarkisian has put the game on Ewers shoulders before. In 2022 for the Alamo Bowl versus Washington, Ewers played well considering he was asked to throw the ball 47 times as a redshirt freshman. There were even some instances when surefire touchdowns he put on the money were dropped that cost him touchdowns passes and the team points. But there were enough mistakes where the Huskies were able to outclass the Longhorns thanks to quality passing from Michael Penix.

Then to start 2024, Ewers was tasked again with having to bring Texas to victory. Texas was 12 yards away from playing Michigan in the National Championship, but the pass for Mitchell didn’t connect.

In 2025, Ewers was once more given the responsibility by Sarkisian to salvage Texas’ drive, game, and season. And he connected. Then did it again. Then did it again.

“Well, I think just first off, that’s just a testament to how mature this team is and just taking advantage of every single opportunity that we have, whether it be fourth and 15 or first and 10, whatever the situation is,” Ewers said. “Just taking full advantage of the opportunity that’s thrown our way.”

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt talked up a big game during the course of the week and played admirably. When his team needed him, he faltered in a way Ewers was able to avoid on Wednesday. Leavitt sailed a pass in the second overtime, and Andrew Mukuba was able to make the game-clinching interception to send Texas to the semifinals.

Texas may need Ewers again, especially if the run game is going to be unproductive against final four quality defenses.

If anything, his performance late versus Arizona State suggests Ewers is up for the task going forward. He was on point when Texas needed him to be, and the Longhorns will continue their season as a result.

It’s not something that was possible last year, and the year before. But it is now especially as Texas readies for Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

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“It definitely feels a lot better to be on this end of the win in overtime at the same spot for sure,” Ewers said.

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