Nostalgia strikes Quinn Ewers as he reflects on his journey from being a kid to leading Texas offense in CFP

The Texas Longhorns press on in their quest for a national championship. They defeated the Clemson Tigers 38-24 in the first round of the College Football Playoff and will face the Arizona State Sun Devils in Wednesday's Peach Bowl, which is serving as a CFP quarterfinal.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers is doing a fine job leading this attack despite the distractions and mounting pressure.

Ewers sat down for media availability on Saturday and answered questions leading up to their quarterfinal game. One question was interestingly about what the moment means to him.

“That’s the stuff you think about as a kid for sure," Ewers said. "You never know if it was actually gonna happen or not, but now that you’re actually in this situation it hasn’t really sunk in what’s really going on around me and just the blessings I’ve been a part of.” (3:10)

Quinn Ewers tuning out the noise amidst Manning calls

So far, Quinn Ewers has managed to tune out all the noise and focus on the task at hand. He has dealt with injuries and tried to play through them, along with the pressure from the fan base of a high-profile backup quarterback Arch Manning.

The redshirt freshman has proven he can lead the team when given the opportunity which stirred up some drama from his fan base and made coach Steve Sarkisian's job just that little bit tougher.

Ewers has repeatedly addressed that he has no intention of entering the transfer portal. With Ewers not officially declaring for the NFL draft, the rumors just have not gone away.

Quinn Ewers looks to throw more against a stingy Arizona State run defense

In their first-round matchup against the Clemson Tigers, Ewers was solid but not spectacular, completing 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The run game did a lot of the heavy lifting, rushing for 292 yards with Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner combining for 256.

Now there will be a step up in the competition with the No. 4 Arizona State boasting a solid defense. The Sun Devils are allowing only 21.3 points per game, which ranks third in the Big 12, with their run defense being the stingiest in the conference, allowing only 117.5 yards per game.

Ewers may have to throw a lot more than what he did against Clemson, with Arizona State a little more vulnerable in the passing game, which ranks eighth in the Big 12.

The Peach Bowl will be played at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Day at 1 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.