Steve Sarkisian calls Quinn Ewers lights out in Big 12 Championship
Texas joins the SEC next season, but they surely ended their final season in the Big 12 Conference with a bang, defeating Oklahoma State resoundingly with a 49-21 win last Saturday to secure their fourth Big 12 title and first since the 2009 season.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers was the shining star for Texas in their conference championship win, saving what some are calling the best game of his collegiate career for a championship stage. Following the game, head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke on the strong showing from his signal caller after he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the title game.
“I thought Quinn was lights out today,” Sarkisian said. “And the biggest thing today was when the first read was there, he was throwing the ball really accurately and guys were making plays. But I thought the thing that showed up today was him getting to secondary reads and getting through progressions and still throwing the ball really accurately and giving guys chances to make plays.”
“Obviously A.D. Mitchell made some plays and J.T. Sanders with a great game, some contested catches. Xavier got us started with a really explosive play early on.”
Ewers and his pass catchers were firing on all cylinders Saturday, with him completing 76% of his passes for a career-high 452 yards and 4 touchdown passes.
He returned to the starting lineup in Week 11 following a shoulder injury sustained against Houston, throwing for four total touchdowns in the final three weeks of the regular season. But after throwing for four touchdowns in his most recent game, it may be safe to say that Texas and Ewers are both officially back.
“I think there’s always that calming factor when your starting quarterback is in there. So to get him back for the last four was big. And, hey, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Maalik Murphy in those two games. And people sometimes overlook us beating Kansas State. That is with a backup quarterback and against a really good team,” Sarkisian explained. “So it all adds up to we got here and we were as healthy as we could be. And he played a fantastic game and played it confidently. So I’m proud of him because this has been a journey for him, too. None of us forget some of the tough days last season, but to get to this point to have this moment today, that’s pretty special.”
The win propelled to Longhorns to their first College Football Playoff appearance, as they’ll take on Washington in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. And based on Ewers performing his best this season on big stages versus Alabama and Oklahoma State, the Longhorns have to like their chances to against the Huskies.