Quinn Ewers misfires in CFP loss, but sounds pretty fired up about a Texas return | Bohls
NEW ORLEANS — Texas met its match.
In a rematch, of all things.
As he did in last year’s Alamo Bowl, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. once again overshadowed Texas’ own outstanding Quinn Ewers in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night with as impressive a quarterback performance as these eyes have ever witnessed. Probably on a par with Vince Young’s handiwork — and legwork — in the 2006 Rose Bowl to claim Texas’ last national championship.
Ewers unfortunately couldn’t duplicate VY’s legendary game and no longer has a shot at the school’s fifth national championship since Washington will take on top-ranked Michigan on Monday in Houston.
But even though he was never really in sync all night, Ewers had his team on the brink of a huge comeback victory after trailing by 13 with 11 minutes to play. Despite leading Texas from its own 31 to the Washington 12-yard line, the threat bogged down when with a single second remaining, Ewers’ fourth-down pass to Adonai Mitchell in the end zone was batted away by Huskies’ Elijah Jackson.
That drive fizzled.
But Penix sizzled all night long.
And that was the difference as the Longhorns’ magical season ended with a 37-31 loss to the No. 2 Huskies in the College Football Playoff semifinals in the Sugar Bowl. Not that a 12-2 season is anything to sneeze at.
It just wasn't Texas' night in New Orleans
In truth, however, this was as poorly played a game as Texas produced all season long. The Longhorns ran the ball spectacularly, but the secondary suffered a barrage of pinpoint passes from Penix. The defensive line stuffed Washington’s run game but didn’t record a single sack and very few hurries. Texas had more than its share of penalties and the Longhorns’ all-star tandem of receivers Xavier Worthy and Mitchell were no-shows for more than three quarters when Ewers just could not find them.
Ewers, who fell to these same Huskies in last year’s Alamo Bowl, has to be a little weary of losing to Penix although he has plenty of company. By exposing the Longhorns' defense with 430 passing yards — third-most in Sugar Bowl history — and two touchdowns and particularly picking on cornerbacks Ryan Watts and Terrance Brooks, Penix extended college football's longest active win streak to 21 straight games. The Huskies (14-0) are damn good.
While the Longhorns must really upgrade their secondary and pass rush before next season, they also could use another year of seasoning from Ewers. The redshirt sophomore didn’t directly address his NFL decision that's due by Jan. 16, but he sounded as if he's inclined to return to school.
That’d be the wisest choice. While Ewers had an erratic performance, he ran the ball better than he had all season, he connected with the supernatural Mitchell for a spectacular touchdown in the fourth quarter on the same series when Ewers and Worthy had teamed up for a 38-yard strike five plays earlier. He threw for 318 yards — his eighth 300-yard game of the season — but almost had as many incompletions (21) as completions (24).
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“I'm a human being, and I understand what's ahead,” said Ewers, who has a 16-6 record as a starting quarterback. “But at the same time, there's a long ways in between here and a year from now. A lot can happen in 365 days. But I know that we're going to work as hard as we can to try to be back. And that's all we can really do, is attack the offseason the right way and just continue to build this team to what it's capable of being.”
Quinn Ewers 'gave us a chance to win' at the end
Sounds encouraging for a third season for Ewers on the Forty although some are itching for Arch Manning to take over. The glut of great quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft should also give him pause since USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, Oregon's Bo Nix, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Washington State's Cam Ward and, of course, Penix could push down Ewers’ status as an NFL prospect.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian bragged on his quarterback even though Ewers was under pressure a lot and got off to a ragged start. His first four passes were incomplete. He had several passes tipped at the line of scrimmage. He had just 61 yards passing on his first six offensive series.
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Ewers also conceded that he did hit his head hard on the ground in the second half and was examined and cleared for a return to play.
“I thought Quinn had a really gutsy performance tonight,” Sarkisian said. “I thought he utilized his legs extremely well. I thought he had made some big-time throws at critical moments, especially late in the ballgame. Gave us a chance to win. That doesn't happen unless he's played his heart out and making some really big-time throws for us.”
What now for Ewers: Should he stay or should he go?
Ewers may not be in Penix’s league, but very few if any others are. Penix was the Heisman runner-up this year and very easily could have taken home the hardware but for the 50-touchdown output of LSU’s Daniels.
“Penix got hot,” Sarkisian said. “They made some big plays down the field. And when they extended the lead, we got a little bit out of our gameplan to try to fight our way back into it. I think there were times we did create some pressure. We just couldn't get him on the ground. And that was probably the most frustrating part. He was elusive in the pocket.”
Penix also had a couple of nice gains on designed runs, a new wrinkle in Washington’s gameplan, and got two 100-yard receiving performances out of Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk. Texas, meanwhile, could coax just six catches for 77 yards out of its dynamic pair with 39 of those yards coming in the last half of the fourth quarter.
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It might be as simple as the experience factor because the left-handed Husky is one of Washington’s nine sixth-year starters while Ewers was making just his 22nd career start. Penix has won 25 of 27 starts after a three-year stint at Indiana. Overall, Penix has 44 starts, twice Ewers' count, and has passed for more than 13,000 career yards with 93 touchdowns.
Ewers also missed two entire games this season and last year missed three games and three-quarters of a fourth.
Similarly, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe had his ups and downs this season and managed to throw for only 116 yards against Michigan’s vaunted defense in the Crimson Tide’s loss in the Rose Bowl. In this day and age, it’s critical to have a highly productive quarterback if a team hopes to claim a championship.
Ewers has been that most of his time at Texas, but he can always improve.
Should he return, he’ll be behind a veteran line with terrific running backs like Jonathon Brooks, CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue and promising but very young receivers.
The potential and expected loss of Worthy, Mitchell, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Jordan Whittington would deprive him of his top four pass-catchers although the return of freshmen Johntay Cook II and DeAndre Moore and the arrival of five-star Ryan Wingo and Parker Livingstone as well as Houston transfer Matthew Golden will provide some serious talent waiting in the wings.
Ewers couldn’t really explain how Washington took Worthy and Mitchell out of Texas’ gameplan. Nor could Worthy, who said, “I couldn’t tell you.”
“It’s hard to say why I didn’t do certain things,” Ewers said. “And I don’t like to play the what-if game at all.”
That’s sort of a strange answer since the absence of two of the most dynamic receivers in football pertains not so much to what-if as what-the-heck. But it was kind of in keeping with a head-scratcher of a game since Texas just did not look like itself.
That includes the normally reliable and underappreciated Ewers, but he might resemble his normal self more next year with a third season if he chooses to come back. Or who knows, maybe he’ll even resemble Michael Penix Jr.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football could sure use another year out of Quinn Ewers
