Texas benches Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning and then switches back

AUSTIN, Texas – Despite benching Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning in No. 1 Texas' 30-15 loss to No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night, coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game that there was no quarterback competition.

“Quinn is our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “I appreciate the fact that we're fortunate to have a backup like Arch who can come in and provide a spark in some way, but at the end of the day, Quinn is our starter.”

Manning entered the game trailing 20-0 with 4:43 left in the first half. His first drive ended with a punt and his second ended with him fumbling the ball on a pass attempt, setting up a Georgia field goal that made it 23-0 at the end of the first half.

Ewers struggled with Georgia's pass rush. He was pressured on six of his 16 dropbacks, going 0-for-2 and recording three sacks on those plays. Overall, Ewers completed 6 of 12 passes for 17 yards and one interception while on the bench.

Sarkisian said Ewers' “eyes weren't where they should be,” so he decided to give him a chance to calm down and come out in the second half, even though Ewers said he was told that first when he was in the locker room at halftime. Ewers was asked if he agreed with Sarkisian's assessment that he needed a fresh start.

“I mean, it seemed like it,” he said. “I came out after the second half and put together a few good drives, but it's definitely a strange situation to be in. …I felt good. I thought I was making some of the right decisions. Obviously.” I missed a few here and there. But it's hard.

Ewers and Manning were both under pressure from Georgia's pass rush. The Bulldogs came under pressure on 39% of Texas' dropbacks. Georgia had 11 sacks all season but finished the game against Texas with seven. The Longhorns only managed 39 yards.

“The game and the way it played allowed elite pass rushers to pass rush,” Sarkisian said.

Ewers completed 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Manning went 3-of-6 for 19 yards.

“Quinn is our starter, but I think we have to do a better job around him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he would tell you he can play better, but we have to train better. Everyone has to be better so that our offensive football team can perform better.”

Ewers said he thought Ewers showed his competitive side in the second half, noting, “I'm sure he wasn't the happiest guy with me” for taking him out of the game.

The Longhorns' poor performance was a disappointment for a top-tier Texas team in front of 105,215 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in one of the most anticipated games of the season. But Sarkisian said in a 12-team playoff era, one loss can't stop the Longhorns from scoring for the rest of the season.

“Losing a game like that doesn’t kill you,” Sarkisian said. “It was one game. … I guess we can sit here and have a pity party for ourselves, but I don't know what good that will do us.”

Ewers agreed.

“We lost to a good team today and I think everyone understands that,” Ewers said. “Obviously not the result we wanted, but there is still a lot to play for.”