AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, on the eve of a heavyweight clash between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was asked what it would take for him to change quarterbacks mid-game from Quinn Ewers to Arch Manning. The coach quickly dismissed the question, saying, “I’m not even going to answer that. I don’t know what the question is.”

Two days later, we got an answer that is suddenly the new headline of Texas’ season.

Sarkisian pulled Ewers for Manning late in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Bulldogs, trailing 20-0 in what became a 30-15 final score. Manning closed the first half with two drives. And while Sarkisian went back to Ewers to open the second half and Ewers played better as Texas made the final score respectable, the coach opened up a can of worms he was long desperate to avoid.

“Quinn’s our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said after the game.

He can say that to the media and the fans, but there’s no putting this genie back in the bottle now. It’s a quarterback controversy, however you want to define it. It’s an unexpected wrench thrown into what was until Saturday a perfect season for Texas. Fans who already wanted Manning to play now know it’s possible he can come in when Ewers doesn’t play well.

Sarkisian has always been a staunch defender of Ewers from the moment he arrived on campus and to this point had handled the quarterback situation as well as humanly possible. He was well aware of what pulling Ewers for the highly touted Manning for non-injury reasons would mean for the attention on this team. But the door has been opened now, and it’ll stay there for the rest of the season.

It’s been almost impossible for Texas and Sarkisian to keep the Arch hype at bay because it’s everywhere. Walk around a Texas game this year and you see far more fans in Manning jerseys than Ewers. The No. 16 jerseys and shirts are prominently positioned in the team stores around the Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Fans at every game ask each other if they’ll see Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew get into the game. Poor Ewers got a Dr. Pepper commercial but the entire premise was having a backup.

There are so many Arch Manning jerseys in Austin. pic.twitter.com/sg4UaWJLyI

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 19, 2024

I wrote after Texas’ win at Michigan that Ewers deserved more respect and it was time to stop the Arch questions while Ewers was still in the burnt orange. It was Ewers who brought Texas back to prominence. But then Ewers injured his oblique, missed two games and hasn’t been the same in the two games back. He threw for 17 yards with two turnovers in the first half Saturday before getting benched.

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When Manning entered the game Saturday facing a 20-0 deficit, the roar of the crowd was enormous.

“I felt Quinn was a little uneasy, and I felt like giving him a chance to step back and regroup,” Sarkisian said, explaining the change. “I didn’t know if we’d get a series or two with Arch, depending on how much time was remaining in the half, so we just told Quinn we’re going to go with Arch here, give you a chance to get in the locker room, regroup and then come back out in the second half, so that’s what we did.”

But Ewers told reporters after the game that he wasn’t told he would go back in the game until he was in the locker room at halftime.

“(Coaches said) they’re going to give Arch a shot and just give me time to settle down,” Ewers said.

Manning briefly gave Texas a spark. The ball came out of his hand with more quickness and zip than Ewers. He completed three of six passes, scrambled for a 21-yard gain and his mobility was clearly an asset. But he took a bad sack for an 11-yard loss, then took another sack and fumbled the ball away, leading to a Georgia field goal and a 23-0 halftime lead.

GEORGIA FORCES THE FUMBLE ON ARCH MANNING 😳

THE BULLDOGS CONTINUE TO ROLL IN AUSTIN 👀 pic.twitter.com/c05YfLJnrR

— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2024

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It was a reminder that the hyped Manning still has some growing to do on the field, like when he threw two interceptions and completed barely half of his passes against Louisiana-Monroe, before playing much better against Mississippi State.

Ewers started the second half and quickly drove Texas down for a touchdown, putting a jolt in the crowd. When a bizarrely overturned pass interference interception put Texas on the doorstop, Ewers threw a second touchdown pass and pulled the Longhorns within one score at 23-15.

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“I felt (the change) was effective, and Quinn came out and played a much better second half and played well in the third quarter,” Sarkisian said.

“I just settled down and wasn’t trying to make the play and just kept playing,” Ewers said.

He played better, but not well enough to lead a comeback and put the benching out of our minds. He finished 25-for-43 passing for 211 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Ewers has typically played well in Texas’ biggest games, like twice against Alabama, the Big 12 championship against Oklahoma State, the playoff game against Washington and the trip to Michigan earlier this year. Post-injury, he struggled early against Oklahoma last week and was as bad as he’s ever looked in the first half against Georgia.

Asked if the oblique injury was still bothering him, Ewers said he feels it a little bit but it might just be a mental hurdle.

“But that’s just how injuries go,” he said.

Sarkisian can say he just wanted to settle Ewers down, but he wouldn’t have made a change if he didn’t think Manning gave them a shot to come back. Texas’ defense played well, allowing just 283 total yards and 4.0 yards per play. If Texas could just get something going on offense and stop turning the ball over in bad spots, they’d have had a chance to win the game and stay undefeated. That’s why he took the risk of the QB change. It didn’t work.

It’s a loss that completely opens up the SEC race again. No SEC team is undefeated entering November for the first time since 2007. Only Texas A&M and LSU are undefeated in conference play and they play each other next week.

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Texas is still good enough to win a national championship. Sarkisian knows that. Maybe in the end, the brief benching is the motivation for Ewers to fix things on the field and take the Longhorns to the top. Asked if he was ready to get more Arch questions moving forward, Ewers scoffed and chuckled and said, “I don’t know.”

Every Texas game moving forward will open with the possibility Manning could come in if Ewers doesn’t play well. For a year and a half, Sarkisian had expertly avoided that. Now he’s opened it. In a season with sky-high expectations on a program that always has eyes on it, an unexpected giant question mark has just appeared.

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(Photo of Arch Manning running the ball in the second quarter: Tim Warner / Getty Images)