NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Quinn Ewers got into the kind of rhythm his Texas coaches and teammates are accustomed to Saturday night in a hard-fought 27-24 victory over Vanderbilt.

And he did it right after one of Ewers’ more forgettable weeks at the Forty Acres. Not only was he benched in the first half of Texas’ 30-15 home loss to Georgia, but a false report appeared on social media that Ewers was opting out of the remainder of the season and preparing for the NFL draft.

“If he plays like this the rest of the year, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said of Ewers, who at one point completed 17 consecutive passes and finished with 228 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Both interceptions came on tipped passes, with the first leading to a Vanderbilt touchdown, giving the Commodores a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

But then Ewers led the Longhorns on three scoring drives, all of which ended in touchdown passes, the last two to DeAndre Moore Jr.

“It was normal for us. We had a really great week of practice, so I expected that,” Moore said.

So did Sarkisian, who said Ewers’ resilience was on display all season and he missed parts of three games with an oblique injury. Last week’s first half against Georgia was a disaster for everyone on the Texas sideline. After the Bulldogs led 20–0 in the first half, Sarkisian replaced Ewers with Arch Manning, although Ewers returned in the second half.

“You can’t get any worse than how Ewers went last week, especially in that first half, and then his ability to bounce back and show the determination that he showed,” Sarkisian said. “I always say a man’s true character can be seen through adversity, and that was a lot of adversity for him, a lot of adversity for us as a team after last week’s game.

“I think the way he responded was a little bit indicative of how we responded as a team.”

Texas (7-1, 3-1) was unable to put away No. 25 Vanderbilt until Moore recovered an onside kick with 44 seconds to play. The Commodores participated in the AP poll for the first time since the end of the 2013 season.

“These weeks aren’t easy when you get so emotionally invested in a game like last week and then you don’t play your best,” said Sarkisian, whose Longhorns won their ninth straight game dating back to the 2022 season. “It’s hard. is hard for coaches. It’s hard for a team to bounce back, and I think about how many times we’ve seen a team lose a game like (Georgia) and then get beat again the next week because they’re still there. go through.

“I thought this game tonight was a culture win, a tough win for us. We knew it was going to be 60 minutes against this type of team. That was a good football team. They weren’t 25th in the country.” in the event of an accident.”

Even though it was technically a road game for Texas, most of FirstBank Stadium was decked out in burnt orange as the Longhorns fans descended on Nashville for the first meeting between the teams since 1928 and Texas’ first SEC road game .

The start of the game was not what Ewers or anyone else on the Texas team wanted. On the first possession of the game, Ewers caught a pass from Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson and intercepted by cornerback Martel Hight at the Texas 31. Five plays later, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sprinted around the right sideline for an 18-yard touchdown.

“There was no ‘poor me,’” Ewers said. “We just kept playing.”

Sarkisian isn’t sure Ewers would have responded with such poise after such a shaky start two years ago.

“It’s just a real honor for him, even looking back at last week’s game, where when doubt creeps into your mind, that’s a killer,” Sarkisian said. “And I didn’t think there was a spark of doubt in his mind. It was bad luck (with the batted pass). He made a great read, the ball was tipped and intercepted. He came right back out, believed in his preparation and the plan and really executed to a very high level.

“So I really want to thank him and his maturity, his belief in himself and his self-confidence, and I also want to thank his teammates because I think those guys all week made sure they pumped him up and got him ready to go .”

Moore, who finished with six catches for 97 yards, said his first touchdown catch came when Ewers heard while Moore was moving.

“I’m like, ‘Okay, it’s a man (coverage). Let’s go get it. He called a slot fade and he put it there and let me go make a play,” Moore said, adding that this isn’t the first time Ewers has changed the middle movement of the game.

“Yes, he has the ability to do that, especially in this offense. Quinn is the president, so if he sees a look he might not like, he can just change it to something else.”

Ewers admitted he was “crapping” to play another game with his teammates after last week’s loss at Georgia.

“I think it’s a credit that everyone didn’t let down after the loss we had. We came here and played our brand of football, especially in the first half,” Ewers said.

The Longhorns hurt themselves with penalties in the second half, and a second batted interception led to the Commodores’ second touchdown of the second half, making it a 24-17 game.

“We did a good job of just continuing to play,” Ewers said.

He also shook off Monday’s craziness when 247Sports said his Instagram account was hacked with the fabricated report that Ewers was shutting down Texas for the rest of the season because of the Georgia loss.

“I mean, it was pretty random. I didn’t really know where they got that from or if they were hacked or not. … It was definitely weird, and there’s not much else to say about it,” Ewers said.