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Quinn Ewers' Benching for Arch Manning Inspired Change in 'EA Sports College Football 26'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendan Howe | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 12:13 PM ET

Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs defense confounded the top-ranked Texas Longhorns during their regular-season matchup last season. After it harassed Quinn Ewers, Steve Sarkisian inserted Arch Manning, who didn't have any better luck. EA College Football 26 developers took notice of how they did such.

"For people who play the computer, the computer AI will be able to disguise coverages more," The Athletic's Chris Vannini said last week on "Bunch Formation." "They kept using the example of Texas-Georgia last year, a game that I covered. There were a couple of plays where Georgia comes out in a totally different front to disguise something and they got two big plays. I think one ... knocked Quinn Ewers out of the game the first time. Texas got eaten up by that. And they loved that."

Sarkisian was asked about the switch behind center, which he made down 20-0, but said he was only trying to give Ewers a break after a dizzying start to the matchup. The Bulldogs pressured the Texas passers on 39% of their dropbacks, bringing them down for seven sacks.

"I was just trying to settle Quinn down a little bit, try to give us a little bit of a spark," Sarkisian said. "We've got to get out of our own way. We're not playing very good as a unit right now. ... Quinn's our starting quarterback."

Georgia won the teams' first of two clashes on the season by 15 points. It was the most lopsided loss for a No. 1 team at home since 1982.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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