No. 1 Texas turned to Arch Manning at quarterback while seeking a spark in the first half of its 30-15 loss to No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night. Manning stayed in the game for two possessions, finishing 3 of 6 passing for 19 yards as the Longhorns remained scoreless and entered halftime trailing 23-0.
Ewers ultimately returned for the entirety of the second half and finished 25 of 43 passing for 211 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He netted -34 yards on the ground as Georgia totaled a whopping seven sacks.
While Manning does not bring the experience of Ewers, he is a more dynamic downfield passer and also adds more with the quarterback running game. The nephew of former college and NFL star quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning showed his wheels during his brief playing stint against the Bulldogs as he took off for a 21-yard rush late in the second quarter.
Arch Manning has replaced Quinn Ewers against Georgia 👀 pic.twitter.com/1xc58plvdJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 20, 2024
However, he fumbled while being hit four plays later as the Bulldogs' defense came up with a takeaway that led to a Georgia field goal as time expired in the first half.
Manning, a former No. 1 overall recruit, started and won two games for the Longhorns earlier this season as starter Quinn Ewers recovered from injury. After Ewers went out with an abdominal injury, Manning stepped in and led the Longhorns to a 2-0 record.
In his SEC debut, Manning completed 26 of 31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground to lead Texas to a 35-13 win over Mississippi State. On the season, Manning had completed 71% of passes for 901 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns prior to Saturday's action.
Since returning for last week's win against Oklahoma, Ewers has struggled to regain his form. Texas had just 15 yards on 22 plays when Ewers was pulled in favor of Manning.
