Quinn Ewers looks to improve to 5-0 in his starts following losses

It’s no question that the past two games by Quinn Ewers have been mostly out of character for the third-year starting quarterback. Against Oklahoma, Ewers was able to get away with a number of slow reads and bad plays in the pocket after missing two-plus games, but juggernaut Georgia made life miserable for the Longhorns’ starter in Texas’ 30-15 loss to the Bulldogs.

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With that being said, Ewers has to play better than he did this past Saturday when the Longhorns travel to Vanderbilt and he has shown in previous years the ability to bounce back strong coming off of losses.

Coming off a loss seems like a rare opportunity for Texas these days but Ewers has had a number of chances to respond to defeat dating back to his freshman campaign in 2022 when the Longhorns finished 8-4 in the regular season. Ewers started three of those losses that year.

Ewers in his career coming off a loss is 74-for-112 for 804 yards, nine touchdowns, and only one interception with a 66% completion percentage. More importantly for the Longhorns, Texas is 4-0 in those games.

As a freshman everyone remembers the heartbreaking loss to Alabama where he got injured while showing lots of potential and flashes of things to come. Ewers would return a few weeks later in the Red River Shootout where he would lead a destruction of Oklahoma. Ewers threw four touchdowns en route to a 49-0 soul crushing of the Sooners and his first win in the Cotton Bowl.

The very next game was the infamous Oklahoma State game in Stillwater. No reminder of that 39% passing performance is needed, but he bounced back the following week in a road game against the eventual Big 12 Champion Kansas State Wildcats. Ewers tallied two touchdowns and threw no interceptions in a 34-27 win. Of course, he was helped by Bijan Robinson, who toted the rock 30 times for 209 yards and a touchdown.

That set up a primetime game against No. 4 TCU where Ewers would again show his freshman inconsistency, completing only 44% of his passes. He then would go on the road and beat Kansas and finish out the year by beating Baylor at home. Ewers wasn’t the reason Texas won those games but save for some precarious situations against Baylor, he wasn’t the reason Texas lost either.

In 2023 there were fewer bounce back opportunities considering that Texas team was dominant to start the season. The Longhorns headed into the Red River Shootout undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country after flexing their muscle in Tuscaloosa a few weeks earlier. Ewers shined in Bryan-Denny Stadium, throwing for 349 yards and three touchdowns in what is likely his best performance to date.

Both teams were 5-0 in the Cotton Bowl, and Texas lost a heartbreaker in a chaotic game that was the epitome of the rivalry. Despite two early turnovers, Ewers’ passed the Longhorns back into the contest. Fourth-down struggles were what undid Texas’ chances to win, not any major late-game mishaps by Ewers.

Ewers bounced back the next week on the road in Houston, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions on 79% passing. He was injured of course, but he didn’t have another game with a completion percentage under 65% until after Texas took home the Big 12 Championship.

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Texas fans won’t have to wait much longer to see how Ewers responds after a loss. He and all involved with the offensive process must be better than they were last week against Georgia. Ewers has a good opportunity for a get-right game against the Vanderbilt defense, an opportunity he’s taken full advantage of in his previous four attempts.