- NCAA. Robert Griffin III slams Steve Sarkisian for punishing Quinn Ewers
- NCAA. Steve Sarkisian pulls the plug on 'terrible' Quinn Ewers, giving Arch Manning a leg up in QB battle
Controversy sparked in the game between the Texas Longhorns, who entered Week 8 as the top-ranked team in the nation, and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. By halftime, Texas found themselves down 23-0, struggling to gain momentum after committing three turnovers and managing just 38 total yards.
Quinn Ewers started his second game in a row after recently returning from an oblique injury that caused him to miss two previous games.
However, his struggles continued as he completed only 6 of 12 es for 17 yards, while also throwing an interception and fumbling the ball after being hit on a blitz from the Georgia defense.
In the second quarter, with the Longhorns trailing 20-0 and the offense stalling, head coach Steve Sarkisian made the decision to switch quarterbacks.
Arch Manning took over with just under five minutes left in the half. Manning faced relentless pressure from Georgia's defense and though he showed some mobility on a 21-yard scramble, he struggled to spark the offense.
His first drive ended without points after a missed to an open receiver, and his second drive culminated in a fumble following consecutive sacks, which led to another Georgia field goal before halftime.
Manning completed 3 of 6 es for 19 yards in his brief appearance before Sarkisian opted to return Ewers to the field for the start of the second half.
Sarkisian's explanation
Sarkisian's post-game comments provided insight into his decision-making, but the Longhorns' offensive woes against Georgia's defense left plenty of questions moving forward.
"I felt Quinn was a little uneasy, and I just felt like giving him a chance to kind of step back, regroup," Sarkisian said.
"I didn't know if we get a series or two with Arch [Manning], depending on how much time was remaining in the half on the clock. So we just told Quinn, 'Hey, we're gonna go with Arch here, Give you a chance to get into the locker room. Let's regroup and then come back out in the second half.'
"At the end of the day, Quinn's our starter. I think we've got to do a better job around him. I think he would tell you he could play better, but we've got to coach better, everybody's got to be better for our offensive football team to perform better."