Why Texas temporarily benched Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning against Georgia

This story has been updated. 

No. 1 Texas fell behind to No. 5 Georgia early at home on Saturday night and decided to make a quarterback change before halftime.

The Longhorns opted to bench quarterback Quinn Ewers in the game’s second quarter. Ewers struggled in the first half against the Bulldogs’ defense, which sent quarterback Arch Manning into the game.

Ewers only had 17 yards of passing and an interception before he was pulled from the contest. Rather than keep Ewers in, Texas chose to give Manning a chance to lead the Longhorns back into the game.

At halftime, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian explained to ESPN’s Holly Rowe why he made the quarterback switch without reveling if he’d put Ewers back in.

Steve Sarkisian in his halftime interview with Holly Rowe on the QB change — “I wanted to settle Quinn down and give the offense a little bit of a spark with Arch.”

— Eric Henry (@EricCHenry_) October 20, 2024

However, Ewers returned to the game after halftime to start for Texas.