Quinn Ewers passed for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 3 Texas’ defense stepped up in the final moments to secure a 20-10 win over Arkansas on Saturday.
Ewers threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden, capping off an 8-play, 75-yard drive that gave Texas (9-1, 5-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) a two-touchdown lead with 9:05 left. Ewers, who completed 20 of 32 passes, also connected with Golden for the first touchdown of the game.
Although Ewers entered the game with Heisman Trophy aspirations, his performance didn’t add much to his candidacy. However, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian pointed out that the team’s bigger goal is to win games, and Ewers did his part.
“When you don’t have many chances, you’ve got to make the most of them when you do,” Sarkisian said. “Taking care of the ball, converting on third downs, and making a big play on fourth down to seal the game — I was proud of him for that.”
Arkansas (5-5, 3-4) had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, driving to the Texas 26-yard line. But the Longhorns’ defense held firm, and Arkansas settled for a 44-yard field goal from Matthew Shipley to cut Texas’ lead to 13-10.
The game was effectively sealed on Arkansas’ next possession. Arkansas’ Taylen Green completed a pass to CJ Brown at the Texas 40, but Brown fumbled, and Michael Taaffe recovered for the Longhorns. Ewers then converted a critical fourth-and-2 with two minutes left, allowing Texas to run out the clock.
Arkansas came into the game ranked fifth in the country for total offense, averaging 484 yards per game. However, the Razorbacks punted on six of their first seven possessions, and their only other possession ended in an interception. They finished the game with just 231 total yards.
“To beat the third-ranked team in the country, you can’t turn the ball over,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “And we turned it over twice. That’s what happened.”
Green finished the game 17 of 25 for 149 yards with one interception. Ja’Quinden Jackson, in his first game back since an ankle injury on Oct. 19, ran for 56 yards on 11 carries and scored Arkansas’ only touchdown in the third quarter.
