Texas short again of opportunity to end title drought in what might have been finale for Ewers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns again finished excruciatingly close to an opportunity to end their national championship drought.

This might have been the last shot for the quarterback who helped them get to the College Football Playoff semifinals two seasons in a row.

Texas again came one win short of reaching the title game, losing 28-14 to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night, when the Longhorns had gotten to the 1 with a chance for a tying touchdown before defensive end Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack of Ewers and 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown clinched it with 2:13 left.

"I mean, back-to-back years, pretty much the game decided in one play. It's hard,” Ewers said. “Being in the final four back-to-back years, and coming up short two years, it's tough. But, you know, that's how life is. You're gonna get punched in the face and have some hard moments."

The Longhorns (13-3) had to win two extra games this season to get this far in the expanded 12-team playoff. They made it in the four-team format for the first time last season and lost 37-31 to Washington in the New Year’s Day semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.

Next season will the 20th for the Longhorns since their last title with Vince Young in 2005. Their other championships were in 1963 and 1969.

"I'm really proud of our players for the resiliency they showed tonight, to fight back, to get back in the game," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "I told them, today's game is the life of a competitor, you put yourself in this arena, you compete your tail off, but we have nothing to hang our heads about by the way they competed, not only tonight, but the entire season."

Ewers, who finished 23 of 39 for 283 yards and two touchdowns, didn’t directly address his future in the postgame news conference. There were reports prior to the game that he does plan to enter his name into the NFL draft.

The Longhorns, who made their Southeastern Conference debut this season, suffered both of their previous two losses to Georgia - a regular-season game at home Oct. 19, and then in overtime in the SEC championship game.

"No one really at the beginning of the season thought we were going to be here, our first year in the SEC,” Ewers said. “We make it to an SEC title game. That didn't go our way either. But for us to bounce back, the way that we did consistently was really cool to see throughout the entire season. I'm beyond proud of all these guys. … It's just been a really cool season. And I'm so proud to be a Longhorn."

Ewers, who is from nearby Southlake, began his college career at Ohio State, spending one semester there when he was roommates with Sawyer. The quarterback transferred home to Texas after taking only two snaps and not throwing a pass for the Buckeyes in 2021.

Texas senior linebacker David Gbenda, who had an interception in his finale, said he knows Sarkisian is "going to improve (the team) tremendously. He's always an adaptable coach, and we have adaptable players, always willing to learn and always getting better. They're hungry to get better, and they're humble, they understand what it takes, and they see now how we fell short."

Ewers alluded to this being his final game with the Longhorns when asked about leaving the program better than he found it.

"Growing up as a Longhorn and being able to play for the Longhorns and see us going to back-to-back semifinal games has been cool to be a part of," he said. "I hope we made the fans proud with our performances this year. We came up short, but I think we're definitely headed in the right direction as a program."