Arch Manning briefly replaced Quinn Ewers in the second quarter of No. 1 Texas’ 30-15 loss to No. 5 Georgia.

Ewers was on the bench as the Longhorns trailed 20-0. Texas had just 15 yards on five possessions with Ewers under center and he committed two turnovers with a fumble and an interception.

Ewers played his second game since returning to the lineup after suffering an abdominal strain during the Longhorns’ Week 3 game against UTSA.

“I was just trying to calm Quinn down a little bit and give us a little bit of momentum,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told ESPN before halftime. “But we have to get out of our own way. As a unit we are not playing well at the moment – ​​our defense is erasing some problems for us.”

Ewers returned to the game early in the third quarter with Texas trailing 23-0.

Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli, began warming up after Ewers was sacked with 7:26 left in the second quarter. Texas held Georgia to a field goal on the ensuing drive and Manning eventually took the field on the Longhorns’ sixth possession. The possession ended with a punt and the only first down came when Mykal Williams was cited for grabbing Manning’s face mask.

Manning’s second drive was worse. After rushing for the first time, Jalon Walker got his third sack of the night when he beat Manning. On the next play, Manning was pulled and Walker recovered the fumble with 25 seconds left in the half. Texas added a field goal after the fumble and took a 23-0 lead into the break.

Manning started two games in Ewers’ absence, as Texas defeated Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. He had five touchdowns in relief of Ewers in the 56-7 win over UTSA.

Ewers was rusty when he started Texas’ 34-3 win over Oklahoma a week ago, but he calmed down and scored two touchdowns as the Longhorns played confidently over the final three quarters. Before Ewers returned to the lineup, coach Steve Sarkisian insisted that it was Ewers’ team and that he would regain his starting role when healthy.

Manning spent most of the 2023 season as Texas’ No. 3 QB behind Ewers and Maalik Murphy before being promoted to No. 2 in 2024 when Ewers returned for his senior season and Murphy transferred to Duke. Manning was the No. 2 QB for two games when Ewers was sidelined with a shoulder injury, and also served as the backup for the team’s College Football Playoff loss to Washington when Murphy entered the transfer portal before the postseason.