Arch Manning takes over for injured Quinn Ewers, leads No. 2 Texas to 56-7 rout of UTSA

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An injury to Quinn Ewers raised the curtain to the Arch Manning show at Texas.

The kid from one of the most famous families in football delivered an immediate hit.

Manning passed for four touchdowns and ran 67 yards for another score after taking over for Ewers in the second quarter, leading the No. 2 Longhorns to a 56-7 win over UTSA on Saturday night.

Texas (3-0) led 14-0 when Ewers left with what coach Steve Sarkisian called strained abdominal muscles. Manning threw a 19-yard touchdown to DeAndre Moore on his first play, then broke off the long sprint for another touchdown on Texas' next possession, as several UTSA (1-2) defenders chased him.

“When the adrenaline kicks in, it helps you run a bit faster,” Manning said.

He connected with Isaiah Bond for a 51-yard TD on Texas' first series in the third quarter that made it 35-7. His next throw was a 75-yard deep strike TD to Ryan Wingo.

Manning finished 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards. He left the game early in the fourth quarter after his final touchdown pass to Johntay Cook II.

“It helps when you have great players around you and good coaches,” Manning said.

The five-star recruit with the NFL family pedigree might be the highest-profile backup quarterback in the country. With sharp passing and an unexpected burst of speed, Manning showed that he should indeed live up to the hype.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.

And if Ewers is out for an extended period, Texas still has time to groom Manning as the starter before the schedule gets much more difficult.

Texas hosts Louisiana-Monroe next week, then opens its first SEC schedule at home against Mississippi State on Sept. 28. The Longhorns then have a week off before their annual rivalry with Oklahoma.

Texas made no immediate announcement of how long Ewers may be out.

Sarkisian noted Ewers’ injury was not caused by contact.

“It remains to be seen the seriousness of that. We don’t think it’s anything structural or broken,” Sarkisian said.

Ewers had just completed a 49-yard pass to tight end Gunnar Helm on a deep throw, and then handed off to Quintrevion Wisner before he waved to team medical staff and laid on his back.

Ewers eventually walked off the field but pulled his shirt over his face as he went into the medical tent. He was on the sideline in street clothes by the third quarter.

Ewers did not speak with the media after the game.

Ewers has missed several games the last two seasons with injuries. He gained attention as a Heisman Trophy contender after Texas' big road win at defending national champion Michigan. He was 14 of 16 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns and one interception against UTSA before the injury.

Manning called Ewers one of his best friends on the team and noted the two are roommates when the Longhorns stay together the night before games.

“I've just learned so much from him,” Manning said. “He's been the man to me, and I hope he's ok.”

Sarkisian praised Manning's poise in the moment.

“It's hard when you have a backup who doesn't have a ton of experience. Arch was our third guy last year,” Sarkisian said. “There’s nothing like being in the game. Playing in front of 105,000 people is not the easiest thing to do. I’m really proud of Arch."

THE TAKEAWAY

UTSA: The defense continues to surrender big play touchdowns as the Longhorns hit three of more than 50 yards. The secondary was overwhelmed by Texas' speed, even when Manning sprinted past several defenders on his long scoring run.

Texas: All eyes will be on the depth chart and the weekly availability report. The Longhorns of course will feel good about turning the offense over to Manning for at least the short term. If Ewers remains out, freshman Trey Owens elevates to top backup role.

TOUGH DEFENSE

Texas has allowed just two touchdowns and 19 total points through three games.

POLL POSITION

Top-ranked Georgia earned a tough win at Kentucky, but Texas' early season body of work is likely to tighten the gap between the Longhorns and Bulldogs at the top. Texas hasn't been ranked No. 1 since 2008. Georgia visits Austin on Oct. 19.

UP NEXT

UTSA hosts Houston Christian on Saturday.

Texas hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Texas tight end Gunnar Helm (85) lea[ps over UTSA safety Elliott Davison (6) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

At about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.

It appeared that many of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it was not immediately clear if non-Hezbollah members also carried any of the exploding pagers.

The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Experts believe explosive material was put into the pagers prior to their delivery and use in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive texts of up to 100 characters.

It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common after years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said from the beginning of 2022 until August 2024, Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 sets of pagers, including more than 40,000 sets between January and August of this year. The ministry said the pagers were exported mainly to European and American countries and that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon.

For Hezbollah, the militants also looked at the pagers as a means to sidestep what’s believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon.

“The phone that we have in our hands — I do not have a phone in my hand — is a listening device,” warned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a February speech.

He later added: “I tell you that the phone in your hands, in your wife’s hands, and in your children’s hands is the agent. It is a deadly agent, not a simple one. It is a deadly agent that provides specific and accurate information. Therefore, this requires great seriousness when confronting it.”

Associated Press journalist Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

A police officer inspects a car in which a hand-held pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at a street that leads to the American University hospital where they bring wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)