AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, on the eve of a heavyweight conflict between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was requested what it could take for him to alter quarterbacks mid-game from Quinn Ewers to Arch Manning. The coach rapidly dismissed the query, saying, “I’m not even going to reply that. I don’t know what the query is.”
Two days later, we received a solution that’s all of the sudden the brand new headline of Texas’ season.
Sarkisian pulled Ewers for Manning late within the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Bulldogs, trailing 20-0 in what grew to become a 30-15 closing rating. Manning closed the primary half with two drives. And whereas Sarkisian went again to Ewers to open the second half and Ewers performed higher as Texas made the ultimate rating respectable, the coach opened up a can of worms he was lengthy determined to keep away from.
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“Quinn’s our beginning quarterback,” Sarkisian stated after the sport.
He can say that to the media and the followers, however there’s no placing this genie again within the bottle now. It’s a quarterback controversy, nonetheless you need to outline it. It’s an surprising wrench thrown into what was till Saturday an ideal season for Texas. Followers who already needed Manning to play now comprehend it’s doable he can are available when Ewers doesn’t play properly.
Sarkisian has all the time been a staunch defender of Ewers from the second he arrived on campus and up to now had dealt with the quarterback state of affairs in addition to humanly doable. He was properly conscious of what pulling Ewers for the extremely touted Manning for non-injury causes would imply for the eye on this crew. However the door has been opened now, and it’ll keep there for the remainder of the season.
It’s been nearly inconceivable for Texas and Sarkisian to maintain the Arch hype at bay as a result of it’s all over the place. Stroll round a Texas sport this 12 months and also you see way more followers in Manning jerseys than Ewers. The No. 16 jerseys and shirts are prominently positioned within the crew shops across the Darrel Ok. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Followers at each sport ask one another in the event that they’ll see Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew get into the sport. Poor Ewers received a Dr. Pepper industrial however the complete premise was having a backup.
There are such a lot of Arch Manning jerseys in Austin. pic.twitter.com/sg4UaWJLyI
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 19, 2024
I wrote after Texas’ win at Michigan that Ewers deserved extra respect and it was time to cease the Arch questions whereas Ewers was nonetheless within the burnt orange. It was Ewers who introduced Texas again to prominence. However then Ewers injured his indirect, missed two video games and hasn’t been the identical within the two video games again. He threw for 17 yards with two turnovers within the first half Saturday earlier than getting benched.
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When Manning entered the sport Saturday going through a 20-0 deficit, the roar of the gang was monumental.
“I felt Quinn was a bit of uneasy, and I felt like giving him an opportunity to step again and regroup,” Sarkisian stated, explaining the change. “I didn’t know if we’d get a sequence or two with Arch, relying on how a lot time was remaining within the half, so we simply advised Quinn we’re going to go together with Arch right here, offer you an opportunity to get within the locker room, regroup after which come again out within the second half, in order that’s what we did.”
However Ewers advised reporters after the sport that he wasn’t advised he would return within the sport till he was within the locker room at halftime.
“(Coaches stated) they’re going to provide Arch a shot and simply give me time to calm down,” Ewers stated.
Manning briefly gave Texas a spark. The ball got here out of his hand with extra quickness and zip than Ewers. He accomplished three of six passes, scrambled for a 21-yard acquire and his mobility was clearly an asset. However he took a nasty sack for an 11-yard loss, then took one other sack and fumbled the ball away, resulting in a Georgia area objective and a 23-0 halftime lead.
GEORGIA FORCES THE FUMBLE ON ARCH MANNING 😳
THE BULLDOGS CONTINUE TO ROLL IN AUSTIN 👀 pic.twitter.com/c05YfLJnrR
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2024
It was a reminder that the hyped Manning nonetheless has some rising to do on the sector, like when he threw two interceptions and accomplished barely half of his passes towards Louisiana-Monroe, earlier than taking part in significantly better towards Mississippi State.
Ewers began the second half and rapidly drove Texas down for a landing, placing a jolt within the crowd. When a bizarrely overturned move interference interception put Texas on the doorstop, Ewers threw a second landing move and pulled the Longhorns inside one rating at 23-15.
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“I felt (the change) was efficient, and Quinn got here out and performed a significantly better second half and performed properly within the third quarter,” Sarkisian stated.
“I simply settled down and wasn’t attempting to make the play and simply saved taking part in,” Ewers stated.
He performed higher, however not properly sufficient to guide a comeback and put the benching out of our minds. He completed 25-for-43 passing for 211 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Ewers has usually performed properly in Texas’ largest video games, like twice towards Alabama, the Massive 12 championship towards Oklahoma State, the playoff sport towards Washington and the journey to Michigan earlier this 12 months. Submit-injury, he struggled early towards Oklahoma final week and was as unhealthy as he’s ever regarded within the first half towards Georgia.
Requested if the indirect damage was nonetheless bothering him, Ewers stated he feels it a bit of bit but it surely may simply be a psychological hurdle.
“However that’s simply how accidents go,” he stated.
Sarkisian can say he simply needed to settle Ewers down, however he wouldn’t have made a change if he didn’t assume Manning gave them a shot to come back again. Texas’ protection performed properly, permitting simply 283 complete yards and 4.0 yards per play. If Texas might simply get one thing occurring offense and cease turning the ball over in unhealthy spots, they’d have had an opportunity to win the sport and keep undefeated. That’s why he took the chance of the QB change. It didn’t work.
It’s a loss that utterly opens up the SEC race once more. No SEC crew is undefeated coming into November for the primary time since 2007. Solely Texas A&M and LSU are undefeated in convention play and so they play one another subsequent week.
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Texas continues to be adequate to win a nationwide championship. Sarkisian is aware of that. Possibly in the long run, the temporary benching is the motivation for Ewers to sort things on the sector and take the Longhorns to the highest. Requested if he was able to get extra Arch questions transferring ahead, Ewers scoffed and chuckled and stated, “I don’t know.”
Each Texas sport transferring ahead will open with the likelihood Manning might are available if Ewers doesn’t play properly. For a 12 months and a half, Sarkisian had expertly averted that. Now he’s opened it. In a season with sky-high expectations on a program that all the time has eyes on it, an surprising big query mark has simply appeared.
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(Picture of Arch Manning operating the ball within the second quarter: Tim Warner / Getty Photographs)
