Quinn Ewers Silences Doubters in Dominant Win vs. Florida Gators

Despite not playing for most of the second half, Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers put together one of the best performances of his career in the win over the Florida Gators.

Nov 9, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) looks to throw a pass during the first half against the Florida Gators at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- Quinn Ewers has been far from his best in recent weeks, and many Texas Longhorns fans have suddenly turned on him as a result. While some criticisms have been warranted, it seems as if these short-sighted fans have quickly forgotten what Ewers has done to help lead the program back to relevance over the last two seasons.

He put any doubts to rest -- and hopefully temporarily silenced the social media know-it-alls -- by delivering a dominant performance in Saturday's 49-17 win over the Florida Gators in Austin.

Against a Florida defense that intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck three times the week prior, Ewers finished 19 of 27 passing for 333 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Arch Manning took his place with 7:03 left in the third quarter with Texas up 42-3.

"It does a lot for the confidence, for sure," Ewers said. "Going out there and executing the way that we did as a whole, who wouldn't be confident after that performance from the whole offense?"

Ewers ended a streak of four straight appearances with an interception, which dated back to the win over UTSA on Sept. 14 when he suffered the oblique injury that sidelined him for two games.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised Ewers for coming into the game with a "real sense of confidence."

"I thought Quinn played fantastic today, and I thought he played great two weeks ago against Vanderbilt. He had a little bit of bad luck with some tip balls, but he was on point again today. We had, unfortunately, a couple drops for him, but he was on point. He really navigated the offense, as much as it was just throwing the ball. I just felt like our rhythm, our tempo, the intent in which we were playing the game, the ball was going to the right, guys on time. They were catchable balls where they could run with it. So I just think he's coming into this game with a real sense of confidence."

Ewers was one passing touchdown away from breaking a school record before heading to the bench. Instead of allowing him to get it, Sarkisian chose differently to avoid upsetting the football gods.

"I just tend not to worry about that kind of stuff," Sarkisian said. "I think records are meant to be broken when they're meant to be broken. I don't think you should try to break records. I think that's when the football gods get you. And I try to stay on the good side of those guys."

Texas will visit the Arkansas Razorbacks next week.

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