Quinn Ewers threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as No. 5 Texas beat No. 25 Vanderbilt 27-24 in its Southeastern Conference road debut.
The Longhorns (7-1, 3-1) bounced back from the loss to Georgia last week that ended their stay at No. 1. They also beat Vanderbilt in Nashville for the first time since 1925 as these new league teammates renewed a rivalry last played in 1928 in Dallas.
Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2) snapped a three-game winning streak in its first game ranked in the 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 as Diego Pavia threw for two touchdowns after Texas went up 24-10 in the third. Pavia’s second TD pass, an 8-yarder to Eli Stowers with 46 seconds left, pulled Vanderbilt within 27-24.
Texas easily recovered Vanderbilt’s onside kick attempt to seal the victory.
The Longhorns opened 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 7-0 lead.
Ewers completed his next 17 passes. He threw a 3-yard TD to Matthew Golden on the Longhorns’ next drive, and he connected with DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 27-yard TD late in the first quarter for a 14-7 lead Texas never lost.
The Texas quarterback found Moore again for a 25-yard catch-and-run up the left sideline for a 21-7 lead in the second. 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 Miles Capers’ interception, Pavia tried to rally Vanderbilt finding Junior Sherrill on fourth-and-goal with a 3-yard TD pass late in the third.
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.
Poll implications
Texas might not win many style points for the Longhorns’ first league road win, but Vanderbilt came in having lost its first two games by a combined seven points. An argument can be made the Commodores deserve to stick around at the bottom of the AP Top 25 after going 3-1 in October.
The takeaways
Texas: The Longhorns gave up four sacks and played sloppy with 10 penalties for 108 yards. They overcame that by outgaining Vandy 392-269.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores showed that their win against Alabama on Oct. 5 wasn’t a fluke, only losing to a top-5 team by three points.
Up next
Texas has an open date before hosting Florida on Saturday, Nov. 9, while Vanderbilt visits Auburn next.
