Sports
Texas benches Ewers for Manning, switches back
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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — With No. 1 Texas struggling at home against No. 5 Georgia, coach Steve Sarkisian briefly benched quarterback Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning before switching back to start the second half.
Trailing 20-0, Manning entered the game with 4:43 left in the first half. His first drive ended in a punt and his second ended with him fumbling the ball while attempting a pass, setting up a Georgia field goal to make it 23-0 at the end of the first half.
Ewers had struggled in the face of Georgia’s pass rush. He was pressured on six of his 16 dropbacks, going 0 for 2 on those plays, with three sacks. Overall, Ewers was 6-of-12 passing for 17 yards and an interception when he was benched.
Ewers fared much better to start the second half, leading Texas on a 55-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown throw to Isaiah Bond, followed by a successful two-point conversion to make it 23-8.