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Arch Manning fills in for Quinn Ewers, No. 3 Texas beats UTSA to remain undefeated

On Saturday night, No. 3 Texas football improved its record to 3-0 with a 56-7 win over visiting UTSA.

The final score, though, was a secondary storyline among the announced crowd of 101,892 at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers exited the game in the first half with an apparent abdomen injury, but backup Arch Manning starred in his absence.

During the game, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told the ESPN broadcast that Ewers suffered a strained abdomen. Ewers returned to the UT sideline before halftime in street clothes.

Before his day ended, Ewers had thrown for 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while completing 14 of his 16 attempts. Texas led 14-0 at the time of his exit, but that lead swelled to a 28-7 advantage by halftime as Manning quickly seized control of the offense.

On his very first snap, Manning fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. Sixty-three seconds later, the redshirt freshman and nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning helped Texas counter UTSA's 53-yard touchdown run with a 67-yard sprint into the end zone.

UTSA never got closer than 21 points in the second half.

Manning finished the game with 223 passing yards and he accounted for five touchdowns while completing 9 of 12 pass attempts. During the second half, he threw 51-, 75- and 12-yard touchdowns to Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo and Johntay Cook II. He was replaced by third-string quarterback Trey Owens with 12:16 left in the game.

Overshadowed by Manning's relief appearance was Bond, who caught touchdowns from both Ewers and Manning in the win. A transfer from Alabama, Bond recorded five catches and 103 receiving yards. He caught each of his five targets.

Defensively, Texas got 11 tackles from linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and sacks from Colin Simmons and Liona Lefau. Texas stuffed UTSA (1-2) on two fourth-and-1 attempts and defensive end Ethan Burke closed out the scoring with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Now 3-0 for the second straight season, Texas will close out the nonconference section of its schedule next week when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks (2-0) were off this weekend.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football beats UTSA behind Arch Manning