When Quinn Ewers was taken out of the Georgia game in the first half, Arch Manning came in and immediately started asking questions. Could there be a quarterback controversy brewing in Austin? While Steve Sarkisian Despite being aware of what the QB situation looks like, he deviated from his usual plan by benching Ewers.

Manning scored on two drives in the first half before not playing in the second half. Ewers was the guy to watch the game as Texas fell 30-15 at home. Next up for Texas Vanderbilt on the road and No. 3 will still be the guy who starts for the Longhorns, according to Sarkisian.

“Quinn is our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said in his postgame press conference. “I appreciate the fact that we are fortunate to have a replacement like Arch who could come in and provide a spark in some way. At the end of the day, Quinn is our starter. I think, like I said, we have to do a better job around him. I think he would tell you he can play better, but we have to train better. Everyone has to be better for our offense to perform better.”

Sarkisian was asked about the decision by the ESPN broadcast at halftime and said Ewers had to settle down on the sideline at the time. The same thing, albeit with more detailed thoughts, came from Sarkisian when he spoke after the game. The main purpose of the move was to take Ewers to the locker room to regroup.

“I felt like Quinn was a little uncomfortable during the game,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like I wanted to give him a chance to take a step back and regroup. I didn’t know if we would get a series or two with Arch depending on how much time was left on the clock at halftime.

“So we told Quinn we’d accompany Arch here and give you a chance to get to the locker room. Let’s regroup and then come back out in the second half and that’s exactly what we did. I felt it was effective. Quinn came out and played a much better second half and also played well in the third quarter.