Did Sark’s benching of Quinn Ewers actually work? Breaking down the decision

Breaking down the short and long term ramifications of Steve Sarkisian’s decision to replace Quinn Ewers with Arch Manning against Georgia.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has been openly second-guessed since the second quarter of the Longhorns 30-15 loss to Georgia. Is it fair?

With 4:43 left in the second quarter, the offense was flat. There was no life. The five Longhorns possessions ended punt, punt, fumble, punt and interception

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs already had 20 on the board.

There are only so many buttons a coach can push to change momentum. One of them is to change quarterbacks. Sark has a very capable backup QB. He pulled Ewers and inserted Arch Manning.

Immediately, experts from around college football started to question the move. They started to psychoanalyze Ewers. They started to talk about the future impact.

All valid questions. It didn’t help that Sark’s move seemingly backfired. Manning fared no better leading the offense to a punt and fumble.

A lot of former quarterbacks have joined the conversation about the move. Even former Aggie Johnnie Manziel.

“Coach Sark has come out and said that [Ewers] is his guy, he’s our starter, so at no point throughout would I ever think I would see him have to go to the bench. I thought this was a really weird decision. I don’t think it’s a situation where you have to go to the sideline and look at something or anything like that. Maybe [Texas] were trying to get a little bit of a spark going, but it didn’t really come to fruition the way they wanted it to.” — Johnny Manziel

It’s hard to imagine any quarterback advocating for a starter to be pulled. But the move might have worked better than the national media is giving Sark credit for. At least in the second half.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns walks off the field after being defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs 30-15 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Ewers came out of the locker room looking more confident. He played better. His throws were better. The junior was 3 of 5 on the next drive, which ended in a Ewers TD pass to Isaiah Bond for Texas’ first score of the game. Ewers hit Bond again on the 2-point conversion.

UT then went on a bit of a run to cut the lead to 23-15. Ultimately, Texas and Ewers couldn’t complete the comeback. But you can’t rule out that Ewers two series on the bench may have contributed to his hot start in the second half.

The long term impact of the move is being much discussed across the nation. ESPN’s Greg McElroy had some harsh words about the move.

“So when your backup quarterback has rock star status, you just can’t make that move there. Now Pandora’s box has been opened, because Steve Sarkisian showed that he is not afraid to replace Quinn Ewers in favor of Arch Manning in the event in which Quinn Ewers struggles. So the only way you could have pulled the plug on Ewers is if Arch is going to be your guy moving forward.” — Greg McElroy

It’s an interesting point. McElroy is suggesting the move could harm Ewers’ psyche, partly because the backup is famous. Sark has stated, before and after the game, that Ewers is his starting QB. I don’t think anyone on the team questions that.

Could the move harm Ewers mentally? Maybe. But if Ewers is the guy that’s going to lead Texas to the playoff and a chance at the national title, his mental makeup better be stronger than to cave in for the season because he was benched for two series. Ewers has been through a lot in his college career. I don’t think the benching Saturday will have much of an impact.

The more pressing questions are: Why did Ewers have a bad game in the first place? Why did Ewers look lost? Why has Ewers not risen to his pre-injury level of confidence and performance?

The short answer is he’s still probably hurt on some level. If your abs hurt, they hurt on every throw. You just can’t put your entire core into a throw if the oblique injury is nagging.

In 2021, Georgia QB JT Daniels suffered the same injury in Week 2 and wasn’t cleared to play until mid-October. By then, Stetson Bennett had taken over and would lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles.

It you’re in pain every time you throw the ball, you will not have the same amount of confidence you have when you’re pain free. The biggest impact on Ewers mentality is most likely his health.

McElroy mentions Manning’s “rock star status.” Should the fame and notoriety of the backup have any impact at all on who plays? Should Sark take the celebrity status of his backup and outside opinion into account when making the decision of which QB to play? McElroy thinks so.

“With who the backup is, and the celebrity status that he carries, I would have avoided that at all cost. That’s a problem because now, first series of the game, if Quinn Ewers starts a game one for three and they punt after a five-play drive stalls, you’re going to start hearing chants of Arch. You have to force your starting quarterback into feeling comfortable.” — Greg McElroy

Sark’s job is to win. A coach has to be aware of player mentality, but ultimately, this is big boy college football. This is a program where you have to win. It is a program you have to be aiming for the top. Sark might worry about feelings, but winning takes precedent.

Ewers is far from perfect. He is a really good college quarterback. There are only a handful of QBs that might be better. Does Ewers have what it takes to beat a top shelf defense? A top three of four defense? He never has.

I fear he doesn’t have enough arm strength or mobility to thrive against an elite SEC defense, or at the next level for that matter. Speed on the other side of the ball is his kryptonite.

It is obvious Manning’s tools are better. His arm strength has a much better chance against the speed of an elite SEC, or even NFL, defense. But his experience is lacking. We saw that on full display during his two series against Georgia.

No one knows Ewers and Manning as players better than Sark. Juggling the two personalities is and will be a challenge. But if you start hamstringing the coach based on outside perceptions and popularity, then you’re not doing everything you can to win. You’re not doing everything to be at the top of the sport.

Football is a meritocracy.