Texas briefly replaced starting quarterback Quinn Ewers with Arch Manning in the second quarter of Saturday's loss against Georgia before reinserting him under center to begin the second half.

Manning took over after the Longhorns fell behind 20-0 in the second quarter as the offense struggled to move the ball. Ewers completed only six of his first 12 passes for 17 yards and an interception. He finished throwing for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.

Manning failed to generate a different outcome, completing only three of six attempts for 19 yards before halftime.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian explained that the decision to bench Ewers was made to provide a spark on offense.

"I wanted to settle Quinn down and give the offense a little bit of a spark with Arch," Sarkisian said at the end of the first half, per Horns247's Eric Henry.

Ewers began the second half back with the offense and immediately led the Horns on an eight-play, 55-yard drive capped with a 2-yard TD pass to Isaiah Bond. Texas followed with a successful two-point conversion to cut the lead to 15.

Ewers was sidelined earlier this season for a month after sustaining an oblique injury in a win against UTSA. The junior passer returned to the starting lineup to lead the Longhorns to a win over Oklahoma last weekend.

Manning started two games in Ewers' absence against ULM and Mississippi State. The Louisiana native had thrown for 901 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions with a 70.5% completion rate entering Saturday.