The Texas Longhorns almost suffer from their inability to convert turnovers into touchdowns

When the Texas Longhorns faced their second-ranked SEC opponent in a row this weekend and were coming off their first loss of the season, they knew they had to play a quality football game if they wanted to win against Vanderbilt.

And although starting junior quarterback Quinn Ewers had a near-perfect performance in the first half, posting a 90 percent pass completion rate, his two tipped-ball interceptions in the game nearly contributed to an upset victory for Vanderbilt.

Ewers had a turnover in the first quarter and another in the third, both times ultimately resulting in a touchdown for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt's offense wasn't all glitz and gold, as graduate quarterback Diego Pavia also threw two interceptions, once in the second quarter and again in the fourth. The Commodores also had a fumble a minute before halftime, but all three turnovers resulted in just three points for the Longhorns.

Losing the turnover battle was an issue that had cost Texas its game against Georgia just the weekend before, and if it hadn't been for the only field goal the Longhorns scored late in the fourth quarter after Pavia's interception, it would have been the game went into extra time.

In the game against Georgia, the Bulldogs were also able to capitalize on turnovers while the Longhorns were unsuccessful as Texas lost 17-7 after three fumble recoveries and an interception.

During the team's press conference following the 27-24 win in Nashville, head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear that he was still proud of Ewers' performance after his two interceptions.

“It's not his fault, it's not anyone's fault, sometimes it just happens, balls get tipped,” Sarkisian said. “I really can’t blame him, it was just unfortunate really because I thought he played a really good game of football tonight. He was just unlucky with the tips.”

It appeared the Commodores got lucky instead, as they had less space to work with when they spotted Ewers' interception. The Vanderbilt offense only had to travel 69 total yards to get into the end zone twice, while the Texas offense had to travel a total of 263 yards after penalties.

While Sarkisian was pleased with the way his team forced three turnovers in a single game, surpassing Vanderbilt's only two turnovers so far this season, he continued to talk about the problem of not being able to convert those turnovers into scoring opportunities.

The Longhorns now begin their second week off before facing the Florida Gators at home at Darrell K. Royal Stadium, giving them plenty of time to reconsider how they can overcome the turnover battle.

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