Not a good night for Texas’ starting QB! The Longhorns kicked off the Orange Bowl on offense with Quinn Ewers at the helm. But the latest developments inside AT&T Stadium are only gathering UT fans’ pleas for change. Is this going to be a replay of the October 19 loss against Georgia?

Starting players don’t always play how they’re expected to play. But even if that were the case for Texas, Steve Sarkisian is lucky to have an elite backup in Arch Manning. And after Ewers’ unconvincing plays, fans believe it’s time for a change. As one concerned fan wrote on X on January 10, “Quinn Ewers looks really bad right now. Arch Manning time?”

Quinn Ewers’ struggle against Ohio State is showing early in the CFP semifinal showdown. Right in their fourth-and-3 at Ohio State’s 36-line, Texas suffered a turnover as his pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. fell short. This gave the Buckeyes RB Quinshon Judkins a chance to scamper from the Longhorns’ defense to score the first touchdown of the game. 

Not only that, the Buckeyes formidable defense also sacked him twice on Texas’ first two series, the latest coming from JT Tuimoloau on third-and-12. The Longhorns had to punt on their second drive where the Buckeyes took over in their 8-yard line. Ryan Day’s team already dominated the first quarter. If Quinn Ewers doesn’t pick up momentum, it’s going to be hard to catch up. Is Sark still going to trust his QB1 or fulfill fans’ wishes by inserting Arch Manning?

UT fans’ request to Steve Sarkisian in the Cotton Bowl

After a slow start, a fan questioned Steve Sarkisian’s decision with a bold claim. They wrote, “Quinn Ewers has been atrocious and seems like a deer in headlights. Texas will lose if Arch Manning is not inserted. Steve Sarkisian should have made this decision a long while ago.” But even with a change in the QB, can Texas change their fate against Ohio State?

This season, Quinn Ewers had been struggling with turnover issues with nine interceptions and four forced fumbles. And after his first quarter turnover, another person wrote, “I’ve seen enough. Put Arch Manning in the game.” But will Sark heed the advice? 

The pressure is only growing. Another person is sure that Texas’ fortune would change with Arch Manning as they wrote, “I’m ngl, Arch Manning gives Texas the best chance to win. They need to take Quinn out.” But wait, we’ve already seen a similar situation before.

In Texas’ first fall to Georgia, Quinn Ewers threw an interception in Q1 and similar calls for Arch Manning surfaced. Steve Sarkisian complied with the calls and benched Ewers for Manning after going 0-20. But the 19-year-old couldn’t find momentum either as he went back out after completing 3 of 6 passes for 19 yards. 

Another user shared a joke with a SpongeBob gif that’s supposed to depict a fictional Manning smiling at Ewers’ bad plays. They wrote, “Arch Manning watching Quinn Ewers come to the bench after every possession.” But that can’t be the case. 

In this case, one player’s fall is the whole team’s misfortune. So, we’ll see if Steve Sarkisian can come up with a last-minute plan to change the direction of where the Cotton Bowl is headed to.