Golden: Texas' Quinn Ewers skewers Oklahoma State, takes his place in Longhorns lore

ARLINGTON — Quinn Ewers lifted Pistol Pete’s sidearms and left the Metroplex as the biggest gunslinger in the Big 12.

Chuck Connors would have been proud.

The Texas quarterback was a true rifleman in Saturday’s 49-21 win over Oklahoma State. Texas won the Big 12 title largely because of how the Southlake Carroll legend took apart Oklahoma State's secondary, section by section.

He dinked. He dunked. Then he went deep.

In short, he shredded.

And most important, he led Texas to the most important victory in nearly 15 years.

When Longhorns football historians sit down and chronicle the greatest big-game quarterback performances in school history, Ewers’ work day on Dec. 2, 2023 before a conference championship game-record 84,523 fans will be right up there with Vince Young’s 467 yards of total offense and three rushing touchdowns in the 2005 national championship game win over Southern Cal.

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It’s in the same neighborhood as the great Bobby Layne’s masterpiece, that 1946 Cotton Bowl win over Missouri when he was responsible for all of Texas’ 40 points. It was every bit as impressive as the resident passing record holder Colt McCoy’s 414-yard performance in the comeback win over Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. McCoy also threw for 470 in a win over Central Florida one season later.

And yes, Ewers’ performance was right there with Major Applewhite’s record airshow in the win over Washington at the 2001 Holiday Bowl.

“He was unstoppable,” said wideout Jordan Whittington.

By the time the Cowboys’ carcass limped off the AT&T Stadium turf, Ewers stood as the fourth quarterback to lead the Horns to a Big 12 title and if things fall right, he could be the fifth to pilot a national championship.

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If not for the one-sided nature of the final Big 12 game in school history, Ewers would have eclipsed Applewhite’s 22-year-old record. By the four-minute mark of the third quarter, he had already smashed Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford’s Big 12 title game yardage record of 384 yards.

Ewers finished 35-of-46 for 452 yards and four touchdowns, which tied the conference game record shared by Kansas State’s Ell Roberson and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. He completed passes to nine different receivers — backup Maalik Murphy also dropped a dime on a 10th, Johntay Cook II — to top it off.

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And there Ewers stood, beaming, after WWE legend the Undertaker gifted him with a championship belt that goes to the game's most outstanding player after Ewers authored the most electric performance of his college career. He was money on his first 12 passes and 16 of his first 17 before the one gaffe — an interception to OSU’s star linebacker Nick Martin in the second quarter that led to Oklahoma State’s second touchdown.

But even after that miscue, he got back to business, showing the on-field maturity that only playing the game can bring.

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Back at Jerry World for the first time since losing to teammate Michael Taaffe’s Westlake Chaps in the UIL Division I Class 6A state title game in 2020, Ewers could not have been better. He had zero problems with the Cowboys’ defense, harkening back to the 2005 conference title game when Young and Co. shredded Colorado 70-3 en route to a national championship.

“He played a fantastic game and played it confidently,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “So, I'm proud of him because this is — it's been a journey for him, too. And I don't think none of us forget some of the tough days last season, but to get to this point to have this moment tonight or today, that’s pretty special.”

Ewers was forced to some self-examination after going 19-for-45 with three interceptions in that 41-34 loss in Stillwater, so Saturday was sweet redemption.

“One hundred percent,” Ewers said. “For sure I thought back to last year. I didn’t play my best and threw three interceptions. I wanted to show this was my true game.”

Unlike Colt McCoy in the 2009 title game here, Ewers didn’t have to worry about a behemoth like Ndamukong Suh making his life miserable. He enjoyed tremendous protection behind bodyguards Christian Jones, DJ Campbell, Jake Majors, Hayden Conner and Cole Hutson and played a cerebral brand of ball.

From that first explosive play to Xavier Worthy to the end when he handed off the reins to Murphy, Ewers was The Man in the biggest game this program has played since Hunter Lawrence booted the 2009 Horns into the national championship game.

Ewers has had some inconsistent moments during his career, but that comes with being a young quarterback. With that said, he has shown time and time again, from the Alabama win in September to Saturday, that he is capable of rising to the occasion. The Longhorns are in play for a CFP bid because their quarterback played his greatest game on his biggest stage today.

He had himself a day.

And he isn't done.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football enjoyed an epic passing performance from Quinn Ewers