Arch Manning got a chance to prove that he should be the team’s starting quarterback this weekend when he replaced Quinn Ewers in the second quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. But when he went right back to the bench in the third quarter, it seemed he would remain the team’s backup quarterback.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has since confirmed that decision.
“Quinn’s our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said after the game according to ESPN.
“I appreciate the fact that we’re fortunate enough to have a backup like Arch that can come into the game and provide a spark in some sense,” Sarkisian continued. “But at the end of the day, Quinn’s our starter.”
Ewers struggled mightily in the first half against Georgia, falling to lead the Bulldogs to any first-half points while turning the ball over twice with a fumble and an interception.
With Ewers struggling, Sarkisian opted to insert Arch Manning into the game. Manning, however, struggled even worse.
In his two drives at quarterback, Manning completed 3-of-6 passes for just 19 yards while totaling -1 yard on four rushing attempts with a lost fumble.
Texas gave Manning a chance to show that he should be the team’s starting quarterback going forward, but that will not be the case.
“Quinn’s our starter, but I think we’ve got to do a better job around him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he would tell you he can play better, but we’ve got to coach better. Everybody’s got to be better for our offensive football team to perform better.”
We’ll have to see how Texas fares the rest of the season following this decision.
[ESPN]