Texas' Sarkisian Praises Quinn Ewers: Vandy Win Shows 'True Character' After UGA Loss

While Texas is in the middle of the SEC and College Football Playoff race following a 7-1 start to the season, it hasn't always been the easiest campaign for quarterback Quinn Ewers.

But head coach Steve Sarkisian said his resilience was on full display during Saturday's 27-24 victory over Vanderbilt.

"You can't get worse than how it went for [Ewers] last week, especially in that first half, and then his ability to bounce back and show the resolve that he showed," Sarkisian said, per ESPN's Chris Low. "I always say that the sign of the true character of a man is in the face of adversity, and that was a lot of adversity for him, a lot of adversity for us as a team coming off last week's game.

"I think the way he responded was kind of indicative of how we responded as a team."

As Low noted, Ewers missed time earlier this season with an oblique injury, was temporarily benched for Arch Manning during the previous loss to Georgia and was even the subject of a false report on social media saying he would not play the rest of the year so he could focus on the NFL draft.

It is perhaps fitting then that Ewers had to battle through adversity within the Vanderbilt game, as he threw an interception on Texas' first possession. The Commodores scored on their opening possession, and the Longhorns were trailing just like that.

Ewers responded by leading two straight touchdown drives to seize control and finished 27-of-37 passing for 288 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also completed 17 straight passes at one point during the game.

Even with those solid numbers, Texas didn't clinch the win until it recovered an onside kick in the final minute.

That is more of a testament to Vanderbilt than anything else, as the Commodores are much better than they usually are and already defeated Alabama this season.

While the Longhorns have that loss to Georgia on their resume, they surely control their own destiny in the race for the 12-team CFP and don't face a ranked team again until the final game of the regular season against Texas A&M.

Ewers should have them playing for all their goals by late November, especially if he continues to fight through adversity.