Following their loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns were out for revenge as they visited the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores. After just 30 minutes, the Horns had already built a 21-10 lead, and head coach Steve Sarkisian had good things to say about his team as they headed toward the locker room.
Sarkisian was asked if his team had something to prove and how he would evaluate the first half by his players.
"I thought they found some good rhythm," Sarkisian said. "The passing game got going, we got the ball on the perimeter... We caught a couple unfortunate penalties but I liked our rhythm and balance we were able to get going."
Even with his one interception, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers completed 19 of his 21 pass attempts for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. However, the Longhorn running back room only earned 47 yards in the first half.
Steve Sarkisian message going into the half vs Vandy pic.twitter.com/EmaYYWxkOV
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) October 26, 2024
On the other side of the ball, Texas held Vanderbilt to 159 total yards, 1 rushing touchdown, and 1 successful field goal attempt. When asked what his message to the defense would be, Sarkisian's answer was simple:
"We gotta keep winning on first down," Sarkisian said. "That helps us on those third down opportunities."
At halftime, the Texas defense had amassed 30 total tackles, 3 pass deflections, and 1 tackle for loss. However, the Longhorns had yet to sack Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia despite seemingly hurting his knee on a quarterback-keep run.
As the two teams headed into their locker rooms, the Horns held a 21-10 lead over the Commodores.