NASHVILLE — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was glad to see his Longhorns, including quarterback Quinn Ewers, bounce back from last weekend’s tough loss against Georgia.
Ewers shook off an early tipped pass for an interception to complete 17 straight attempts on his way to 288 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as the fifth-ranked Longhorns beat No. 25 Vanderbilt, 27-24, in their Southeastern Conference road debut.
Sarkisian called this a “culture” and “toughness” win for his Longhorns, who moved over from the Big 12 this year. Of their first three SEC games as a league member, two were played in Austin — against Georgia and Mississippi State — with the other a neutral-site meeting with Red River rival Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
“We knew it was going to take 60 minutes against this style of team, and again, it’s always good to get a road win, and like I said before, that was a good football team,” Sarkisian said of the Commodores. “They weren’t 25th in the country on accident.”
Texas (7-1, 3-1) snapped a three-game winning streak by Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2), which was playing its first game while ranked in the AP Top 25 since the 2012 Music City Bowl. This was the Commodores’ first regular-season game as a ranked team since Oct. 18, 2008, when they played three games as a Top 25 team.
They had a chance late in this one as Diego Pavia threw for two touchdowns after Texas went up 24-10 in the third quarter. Pavia’s second touchdown pass, an 8-yarder to Eli Stowers with 46 seconds left, pulled Vanderbilt within 27-24. Texas easily recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt to seal the victory.
“I’m heartbroken about coming up short,” said coach Clark Lea, whose Commodores took down a No. 1 team on Oct. 5 in Nashville, beating Alabama 40-35 when the Crimson Tide were on top of the rankings.
The Longhorns gave up four sacks and played sloppy with 10 penalties for 108 yards. They overcame that by outgaining their hosts 392-269 in total offense.
Texas might not win many style points for its first SEC road win, but Vanderbilt’s first two losses were by a combined seven points and they have taken big steps in Lea’s fourth year as head coach at his alma mater.
The Longhorns started slowly as a holding penalty on the opening kickoff was followed by a tipped Ewers pass that was picked off by Martel Hight. Vanderbilt needed only five plays before Pavia scrambled 18 yards for a touchdown and the game’s first points.
Ewers threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden on the Longhorns’ next drive, and he connected with DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 27-yard score late in the first quarter, making it 14-7. Texas never trailed again.
Redshirt freshman Arch Manning didn’t take a snap after getting into the game against Georgia for two series after Ewers struggled.
“He played really well,” Sarkisian said of Ewers’ performance Saturday. “If he plays like that for the rest of the year, we’re going to be OK. We’re going to be just fine.”
The Texas quarterback found Moore again down the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. Ewers didn’t miss on a throw until the final minute of the first half.
Pavia threw for 143 yards and ran for 67 more and a score. After an interception by Miles Capers, Pavia tried to rally Vanderbilt finding Junior Sherrill on fourth-and-goal with a 3-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter.
Texas linebacker Liona Lefau picked off Pavia’s pass on fourth-and-2 with 5:05 left to set up Bert Auburn’s second field goal with 3:11 left.
“We obviously came up short, and that was unfortunate,” Lea said.
Texas has an open date before hosting Florida on Nov. 9, while Vanderbilt visits Auburn next Saturday.