After a strong second half of the 2024 NCAA season, winning five straight after their October 19th loss to Georgia, Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns were afforded a chance to prove once and for all that they are deserving of being called the second-best team in the nation behind only Oregon.

But marching into Mercedes-Benz Stadium with everything to gain and lose against the Bulldogs, despite the team's best efforts, including Ewers throwing for 358 yards, the Longhorns came up short, losing 22-19 in overtime.

Discussing what went wrong at the end of the day, Ewers laid it out for reporters, even if it won't necessarily justify his play in the eyes of fans.

“You know, some plays didn't go our way,” Ewers told reporters via Brian Davis. “We just couldn't capitalize in some key moments in the first half. It's just tough, tough, tough losing big games like this.”

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Widely considered one of the biggest reasons for the Longhorns' loss, with some fans openly asking for Arch Manning to replace him for the SEC Championship game and the College Football Playoffs moving forward, Ewers' words will likely ring hollow to more than a few fans. Fortunately, head coach Steve Sarkisian still believes that Texas has a chance moving forward, as they now begin a four-game journey to return to Atlanta at the end of January for another shot at a championship.

“We've got a four-game playoff. We've got to regroup,” Sarkisian told reporters via Brian Davis. “We've got to get healthy and start this four-game run to get back to Atlanta on January 20th.”

Could January 20th mark the third time this season Texas plays Georgia? Technically yes, that is very much possible. And if that happens, hopefully, the Longhorns will use their experience to finally come out on the right side of the divide, as they went from a lopsided loss in October to an overtime defeat in December in this eventual progression to a victory.