NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The celebration was on track to begin early in Nashville on Saturday afternoon as Texas commemorated its first true road game as a member of the SEC.
The Longhorns — buoyed by a burnt-orange contingent of fans that comprised half of FirstBank Stadium — had run off 21 consecutive unanswered points and were poised to add even more just before halftime. It looked like they were on track for a palate-cleansing day of redemption following last week’s 30-15 loss to Georgia.
But just when that sort of stress-relieving type of outcome felt within grasp, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers hit a moment of indecision and tucked tail, ceding to charging Vanderbilt defensive back Randon Fontenette and taking a sack. The play tuned a third-and-short into a fourth-and-long, which led to a punt, which led to a Vanderbilt field goal before the half.
It was also the moment when it became clear that perhaps this wasn’t going to be a cathartic “get right” spot for the Longhorns after all.
In the end, No. 5 Texas escaped 27-24 win over the No. 25 Commodores, which is more than then-No. 1 Alabama did when it visited this suddenly challenging venue earlier this month.
But the manner in which the victory came did nothing to inspire confidence that Texas is reclaiming the helium-filled trajectory of its 6-0 start. The past two weeks have showed how a team which was the betting favorite to win the national title just two weeks ago shouldn’t even be considered a lock for the 12-team College Football Playoff at this juncture.
What heft is there on this Texas resume? Given the ineptitude of past Texas foes like Michigan and Oklahoma, Saturday’s win at Vanderbilt is the best of the season for Texas, and the Commodores are unlikely to be ranked come Sunday.
Pass protection — or a lack thereof — and penalties were problems for a second straight week. So, too, was an inability to consistently generate positive yardage in the run game.
Sometimes, those three issues worked in a vicious doom cycle for Texas as the Commodores clawed their way back into the game. Twice, Vanderbilt gained possession of the football with a chance to tie the game in the final nine minutes. It took the Longhorns recovering an onside kick before the visiting sideline could finally exhale for good.
Leading 24-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns were on the move and well-positioned with a second-and-2 inside Vanderbilt territory. But the Commodores wrestled Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner to the ground short of the sticks, setting up a critical third-down play.
Finally, Wisner got loose on third down for a 9-yard run that would have set up the Longhorns with a first down on Vanderbilt’s 36-yard line.
But as Wisner broke free, flags came flying in. It was a holding call on the Longhorns’ Amari Niblack, which turned a third-and-1 into a third-and-11, which led to a sack, which led to a punt that netted just 25 yards once Vanderbilt returner Martel Hight was chased out of bounds.
“We had some really good runs getting called back,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I don’t know how many times we had holding penalties on 10-plus yard runs. We’ve got to look at that stuff.”
The Longhorns were penalized 10 times for 108 yards a week after they were penalized eight times for 40 yards against Georgia. Ewers was sacked four times a week after Texas quarterbacks were sacked seven times against the Bulldogs.
If Saturday were a pass/fail grade, the Longhorns passed. They won on the road against a quality SEC foe. Sarkisian called it a “culture” win and a “toughness win for us,” pointing to the physical and emotional toll of last week’s loss in a top-5 home showdown.
“These weeks are not easy,” he said. “When you get so emotionally invested into a game like we were last week and then you don’t play your best, it’s tough. It’s tough on coaches, it’s tough on a team to rebound. How many times have we seen a team lose a game like that and then they get beat again the next week because they’re still going through it?”
It’s a fair point, and it’s why Texas’ initial response to a disastrous beginning on Saturday was so encouraging. Ewers’ second pass attempt of the game was tipped into the air by Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson. It landed in the hands of Vanderbilt’s Martel Hight, and five plays later the Commodores scored to go ahead 7-0.
It was only natural to peak across the field at Texas’ sideline to see if No. 16 was warming up. After all, when Ewers struggled in Texas’ loss to Georgia last week, Longhorns’ coach Steve Sarkisian turned to redshirt freshman Arch Manning for a spark.
There was no quick hook. Sarkisian stayed with Ewers, who rewarded the coach’s loyalty by completing 17 straight passes, including three touchdown tosses, as the Longhorns built a 21-7 edge. The 17 straight completions nearly broke a school record Ewers set last year against Oklahoma (19).
“It’s a real credit to him, even coming off of last week’s game,” Sarkisian said. “When doubt creeps into your mind, that’s a killer. I didn’t think there was a sliver of doubt in his mind.”
But there is a sliver of doubt creeping in when it comes to viewing Texas as a Tier 1 national-title contender, and Ewers shouldn’t be immune from a critical evaluation. Sarkisian chalked up his second interception, which also came on a tipped pass, to simply being “unfortunate.”
The two interceptions led directly to 14 Vanderbilt points on short fields. Categorize them however you wish, they were catastrophic miscues that gave the Commodores life and kept Texas from making any sort of national statement entering November.
We’ve seen Georgia wallop Clemson, roar back against Alabama and beat No. 1 Texas on the road. We’ve seen Oregon take down No. 2 Ohio State and thrash a top-20 Illinois team.
While beatdowns of Michigan and Oklahoma were impressive from Texas in the moment, they are becoming less impressive as the weeks go by. Saturday’s 21-0 run against the Commodores — fueled by a spurt of perfection from Ewers — was intoxicating. But the buzz quickly wore off in a sobering second half.
In many ways, that’s the analogy for the Texas season. A team that was expected to struggle to replace a pair of early-round NFL Draft picks along its defensive front has been filthy defensively. The Longhorns obliterated Michigan, rose to No. 1 despite losing Ewers, then the Heisman frontrunner, to injury — a spell that saw a rollicking few weeks of Arch Manning at the helm. Then Ewers returned and crushed its arch rival, Oklahoma. It was a whale of a first half of the season. Texas has plenty to fix to make sure the second half of the year ensures at least a shot at glory.
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