Steve Sarkisian Makes Arch Manning Decision After Texas-Georgia

Steve Sarkisian and the No. 1 Texas Longhorns played a hard-fought battle in Week 8, ultimately falling to the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, 30-15.

During the Top 5 matchup, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was briefly benched with around four minutes left in the second quarter.

Backup quarterback Arch Manning was thrown into the lineup while the Longhorns were down 20-0. Manning played limited snaps and wound up finishing the game with 19 yards, completing 3-of-6 pass attempts.

While Ewers was benched at the end of the first half, the Texas staff put their veteran starter back in the game in the third quarter, giving him a chance to defend home-field advantage.

However, Ewers was unsuccessful in leading a comeback, but he helped the Longhorns score 15 points in the third quarter and gave them some life in the second half.

After the game, Sarkisian was asked about what many call a quarterback "controversy." He made sure to let fans and the media know there was no debate between Ewers and Manning.

"Quinn is our starting quarterback," Sarkisian said.

Following the matchup, Sarkisian also revealed the real reason he pulled Ewers during the first half.

"I just didn't think he was at his best," Sarkisian said. "A lot of things that I've seen him do I wasn't quite seeing. His eyes weren't where they need to be and so that's where I felt like he needed kind of like a reset... I thought he competed his tail off in the second half."

Ewers finished the game with two touchdowns and 211 yards, completing 25-of-43 pass attempts. The Longhorns' offensive line struggled to protect Ewers, leading to -34 yards on the ground for the quarterback, but part of this struggle came from his inability to extend plays with his feet.

While a player like Manning has that ability, Sarkisian made it clear that he's sticking with Ewers as the starter.

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