Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian opened his postgame news conference Saturday night by describing his team’s 30-15 loss to Georgia as a tale of two halves.

That description was certainly apt for the high-achieving quarterback Quinn Ewers turned in.

In the first half, the third-year starter was just 6 of 12 for a paltry 17 yards. The Longhorns’ offense totaled 29 yards over the course of Ewers quarterback’s first six drives: four of those drives ended in punts, one ended in a fumble and another ended in an interception.

With Georgia leading 20-0 late in the second quarter, Sarkisian inserted a backup Bow Manning in the game. Manning didn’t fare much better in his two series before halftime, even losing a try of his own that paved the way for three additional Bulldogs points.

Ewers re-entered the game to start the third quarter and completed 19 of 31 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

“I thought we really saw the competitor in Quinn come out in the second half,” Sarkisian said after the game. “I’m sure he wasn’t the happiest guy with me since he was knocked out for a few series. I’m sure he wanted to stay there and work his way through it.

“I had to make a decision about what I thought was best for the team at that time, but also what was best for him at that time. And sometimes the players don’t always see that, but I think if he steps back and looks at it, he’ll understand that I was trying to do what was in the best interest of him, to get him to recalibrate a little bit and reset to start playing the second half.

Sarkisian added: “I think he will recognize the coaching. He has certainly been coachable with us. And I think he has a lot of good football ahead of him this season.”

Both of Ewers’ touchdown passes came in the third quarter, after which Texas made it a 23-15 game.

Except that despite accumulating 106 total yards of offense in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns were unable to finish their drives in the final frame. Texas played catch-up after Georgia scored an insurance touchdown early in the period and was stopped on fourth down on all three drives in the fourth quarter, including twice in the red zone.

Offensive blunders in the first half put the Longhorns in a tough spot in the second half. Sarkisian was then asked about the uncharacteristic mistakes of Ewers, who was sacked five times and fumbled again in the fourth quarter.

After all, Ewers entered the top-five showdown with a stellar resume in big matches, most notably beating then-No. 3 Alabama on the road in 2023 and then No. 10 Michigan on the road in 2024, not to mention his record-breaking Big 12 title victory over then No. 18 Oklahoma State last year and then his admirable, one-throw performance in the semifinal of last season’s Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff against national runner-up Washington.

“I just didn’t think he was at his best,” Sarkisian said of Ewers’ performance against Georgia. “A lot of the things I’ve seen him do, I haven’t seen in full. I didn’t think his eyes were where they needed to be, so I felt like he needed to reset and regroup at halftime. … I thought he fought his tail off in the second half.”

Sarkisian reiterated after the game that Ewers is still his starting quarterback.

“I appreciate the fact that we are fortunate to have a backup like Arch who can come into the game and provide a spark in a way. But at the end of the day, Quinn is our starter.”