Laken Litman
College Football & Soccer Analyst
ARLINGTON, Texas – Surrounded by cameras and reporters, escorted by a police officer, Quinn Ewers walked across the field toward the tunnel that would lead to the Texas locker room. He took in the surroundings: The screens at AT&T Stadium were lit up red with the words “OHIO STATE WINS!” and “CHAMPIONS” in all caps. He acknowledged the Longhorn fans waiting for him to pass, showing their support for the Texas quarterback with their horns, while trying to ignore the fact that the trophy presentation was about to happen, not to his team.
When he reached the end of the field to enter the bowels of the field, Ewers turned, looked back at the field, and kissed the towel around his neck twice. He had done so much in this field – played for a high school championship, won a Big 12 title, and may have played his last college football game.
Ohio State beat Texas 28-14 in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl on Friday night to advance to the CFP National Championship game vs. Notre Dame. This was the second year in a row the Longhorns finished at this point. Finally, they were one game away from beating Washington. This time, they came close to stopping the Buccaneers, but again, they couldn’t finish.
Heading into the CFP conference with Ohio State, Texas players talked about last year’s loss to the Huskies and how it set the tone for this season. Ewers said he will do “whatever it takes to get us back here,” and they want to move forward.
They almost did.
Trailing 21-14 with less than seven minutes left in the game, Ewers, calm and composed as always, led the Texas offense from its own 25-yard line to a first-and-goal from Ohio State’s 2-yard line. . On the first play, Jerrick Gibson rushed up the middle for no gain. “We went to a heavy package, which is Jerrick’s package,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We ran it, and obviously we didn’t move at all.”
On the second try, Ewers threw the ball to Quintrevion Wisner, who tried to get to the edge but was smothered by Ohio State’s defense for a 7-yard loss. “That’s one of those plays, if you block it well, you get into the end zone, and we didn’t, and we lose a little yardage,” Sarkisian said.
On third down, Ewers’ pass intended for freshman Ryan Wingo was broken up in the end zone. “At that time, he stopped after eight balls because we knew we were in the four-down zone because of the points of the game,” said Sarkisian.
And on fourth down, Ewers dropped back to pass but was quickly wrapped up by Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, who stripped the quarterback, picked up the fumble and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown. Ewers said he heard Sawyer coming, tried to get away from him and thought he could get the ball out before contact.
“It’s not like I tried to give them a game,” Ewers said. “But I saw Jack running with the ball down the sideline. It’s crazy, man. But he’s a great player, one person, a big person.
“It’s just bad. It’s bad.”
It was a poetic way for things to end, though. Ewers began his career at Ohio State and roomed with Sawyer before transferring to Texas after one semester. Asked if the two said anything to each other after the game, Sawyer told broadcasters that Ewers said, “screw you” before walking away laughing.
“That’s my guy,” Sawyer said of Ewers. “Obviously we lived together when he was here. I have a lot of respect for him and the rest of the Texas team.”
As big as Sawyer’s scoop-and-score was, it wasn’t the only defining moment in Friday night’s Cotton Bowl. Late in the second quarter, one play after Texas tied the score at 7-7, Bucks running back TreVeyon Henderson caught a pass from Will Howard and went untouched for a 75-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-7 lead. during the break. Part of the Texas defense’s game plan was to recognize Henderson in the open field — he had a similar play against Oregon in the Rose Bowl when he went for a 66-yard score — but the coverage stood out.
“It’s unfortunate that they hit the screen,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t think anyone expected that. He definitely stole the momentum.”
Texas had a strong response in the third quarter. Ewers led the game-tying drive, while the defense played lights out with an interception, stuffing Quinshon Judkins on third-and-1, sacking Howard and breaking up another third-and-15 pass. By the end of the night, the Longhorns had two sacks – Ohio State had dropped 12 on the year and Howard was yet to be kicked out of the playoff game. The unit also made star wideout Jeremiah Smith invisible, holding him to just one 3-yard pass.
“[Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s] the game plan in that situation at No. 4 was amazing,” defensive end Jahdae Barron said.
Ohio State may have been the favorite coming into this contest, but going into the fourth quarter, it looked like the game was there for Texas to take.
In the end, though, Ewers couldn’t deliver when he needed it most and the Longhorns didn’t get a good finish. The senior signal-caller finished 23-of-39 for 283 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and was sacked four times. Texas was unable to run the ball effectively, rushing for 58 yards, one of its worst results of the year.
Now, Ewers, who dreamed of being a quarterback in Texas his whole life, will not play for a national championship. But he will go down as a key figure in helping Sarkisian rebuild the program into a top contender.
“I’m very proud of Quinn,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t know if he’ll ever live up to the standards of what everybody thinks he should be. But in the end, all he did was show up every day and work and be a great leader and a great teammate. And that’s a real credit to him because human nature, in this day and age, is to look at Twitter , checking Instagram, checking social media and articles and fan boards and anything else.
“But this guy never did that. He fought through everything. He never complained about it. And I think that’s why he’s so respected by his teammates.”
As for Ewers and his future, there is speculation of a very lucrative NIL offer for him to enter the transfer window. He hasn’t declared for the NFL Draft, but that’s reportedly where his mind is right now. He did not address the issue after the game.
As for the future of the show, fans are already looking to Arch Manning.
“It hurts, it hurts right now,” Sarkisian said. “But I’m not going to let this one game and a few games overshadow what we’ve been able to achieve this season. Yes, we want to be champions. That’s what life is about. You always want to come out on top. But there’s a lot to learn from this season, and a lot to be proud of this season.”
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in the spring of 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow him on @LakenLitman.
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