TEXAS quarterback Quinn Ewers gave a moving speech after his team’s season came to a crashing halt.
The Longhorns were beaten 28-14 by the Ohio State Buckeyes in Friday’s semifinal.
Quinn Ewers saw his Texas team lose in the CFP semifinal Friday night[/caption]
Fans wanted Arch Manning to enter the game at a crucial stage[/caption]
Ohio State won the Cotton Bowl matchup in Arlington, Texas to advance to the national championship.
And Texas was left to rue a fourth-quarter collapse where they were outscored 14-0.
“Noone at the beginning of the season really thought we were going to be here,” a defiant Ewers said.
“It was our first year in the SEC, we made it to the title game.
“It didn’t go our way either but for us to bounce back the way we did consistently was really cool to see throughout the entire season.
“I’m beyond proud of all these guys. I love every single one of them.
“The amount of work that we put in in the off-season with our conditioning and summer workouts, we grind together and the love grows together.
“It’s been a really cool season and I’m so proud to be a Longhorn.”
Ewers threw for 283 yards, completing 23 of his 39 passes.
He had two touchdowns and an interception in the loss.
And Texas was unable to convert a 1st and Goal at the one-yard line into a touchdown with 2:29 to play.
Fans on social media wanted Arch Manning to enter the game in that situation.
But they were left disappointed by his lack of playing time and devastated by the final result.
One wrote on X, “If we can’t get no score this drive it’s time for Arch Manning.”
Another posted, “Put Arch Manning in. Quinn Ewers is not it.”
How the 12-team CFP works
The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off on Friday, December 20.
But who will get in?
The highest four ranked conference champions will all be guaranteed a first-round bye into the quarterfinals around New Year.
The fifth highest ranked conference champion will also be assured a place, regardless of if they’re ranked in the top 12 teams in the nation.
That ensures a champion from one of the second tier of conferences will get a chance to play for the national championship.
Teams seeded five through eight will host a first round playoff game on Friday, 20 or Saturday 21 December.
And they will go up against the teams seeded nine through 12.
All of these rankings and seedings are decided by the CFP committee – based on record and strength of schedule among other factors.
This year’s National Championship Game will take place on Monday, January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
While a third commented, “Instead of putting Arch Manning in the game on 1st and goal at the 1 and guaranteeing a score, Steve Sarkisian chose to have the worst play calling series I have ever seen in my life.”
Ohio State will face Notre Dame in the national championship on Monday 20 January.
The Buckeyes were the No. 8 seed in the 12-team playoff.
But they’ve beaten No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon and now No. 5 Texas to reach the final.
And next will be the seventh seeded Notre Dame, who beat No. 6 Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl.
