Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian opened his postgame press conference Saturday night by describing his team’s 30-15 loss to Georgia as a story of two halves.

That description certainly applied to the performance quarterback Quinn Ewers delivered.

In the first half, the third-year starter went just 6 of 12 for a measly 17 yards. The Longhorns’ offense totaled 29 yards over the first six drives Ewers completed at quarterback: four of those drives ended in punts, one ended in a fumble and another ended in an interception.

When Georgia led 20-0 late in the second quarter, Sarkisian stepped up Arch Manning into the game. Manning didn’t fare much better on his two series before halftime, even losing a fumble of his own that set the stage for three additional Bulldogs points.

Ewers returned to the game at the start of the third quarter and completed 19 of 31 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

“I thought we saw the competition in Quinn really come out in the second half,” Sarkisian said after the game. “I’m sure he hasn’t been the happiest guy with me since he was brought along for a few series. I’m sure he wanted to stay in there and try to get through it.

“I had to make a decision about what I thought was best for the team at that moment, but also what was best for him at that moment. And sometimes players don’t always see that, but I think if he steps back and looks at it, he’ll understand that I was trying to do what was in his best interest, to kind of recalibrate and reset him to play the second half.”

Sarkisian added: “I think he will take credit for the coaching. He was definitely trainable with us. And I think he still has a lot of good football ahead of him this season.”

Both of Ewers’ touchdown passes came in the third quarter, at which point the score was 23-15.

However, the Longhorns were unable to complete their drives in the final frame despite totaling 106 yards of offense in the fourth quarter. After Georgia scored a sure touchdown early in the period, Texas had to play catch-up and was stopped on fourth down on all three fourth-quarter drives, including twice in the red zone.

Offensive errors in the first half put the Longhorns in a difficult situation in the second half. Sarkisian was then asked about the uncharacteristic mistakes of Ewers, who was sacked five times and made another mistake in the fourth quarter.

After all, Ewers came into the top-five showdown with a great track record in big games, notably beating then-No. 1.3 Alabama on the road in 2023 and then No. 10 Michigan on the road in 2024, not to mention his record-breaking Big 12 title win over then-No. 10 Michigan. 18 Oklahoma State last year and then his admirable one-shot performance in last season’s Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal against national runner-up Washington.

“I just don’t think he’s at his best,” Sarkisian said of Ewers’ performance against Georgia. “A lot of what I saw from him, I didn’t quite see. I didn’t think his eyes were where they needed to be, and so I felt like he just needed a reboot and a reorientation at halftime. … I thought he was able to keep up in the second half.”

Sarkisian reiterated after the game that Ewers is still his starting quarterback.

“I appreciate the fact that we are fortunate to have a replacement like Arch who can come in and provide a spark in some way. But at the end of the day, Quinn is our starter.”