After racking up over 500 yards and producing three turnovers in a complete demolition job of Texas State, Texas gave the country a glimpse of the special team they can be in 2026. With the win, Texas has won nine consecutive home openers and 39 straight non-conference games against teams from the Lonestar State, dating back to 1968.
Now the eyes of Texas are focused firmly on Ohio State ahead of next week’s national showdown at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. Before firmly focusing on the biggest non-conference game of the 2026 regular season, here are 3 takeaways from the Longhorns 59-7 victory over the Bobcats.
1. Arch Manning Is Poised for A Big 2026 Season
Although we only have a small sample, anyone who saw the junior quarterback play in last seasons opener against Ohio State and watched him do his thing Saturday can tell he’s a better QB with more command of the offense.
Despite a bad interception before halftime, Manning played a solid game while racking up over 300 passing yards by distributing the ball to multiple receivers all over the field. Manning’s chemistry with star wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo was on full display as each caught a pass over 40 yards while combining to haul in three touchdowns.
When the dust settled, Coleman and Wingo combined to catch 10 passes for 191 yards while scorching the Bobcats secondary left and right. Mix in nice touch passes to Emmett Mosley V and timely swing passes to Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown and it’s easy to see why Manning is in store to rack up some big numbers.
Besides the gaudy numbers, another big indicator Manning is in line for a big season is the fact the Longhorns offensive line consistently gave him time to go through all his reads and progressions as he was hardly touched all game. A far cry from the opening weeks of last season when he constantly under duress and hit often on passing attempts.
If Manning and the entire offensive unit can build upon its Texas State performance next week, Texas has a good chance to get the Ohio State monkey off their back.
2. Will Muschamp Is The Right Man For The Texas Defense
After 16 years away from “The Forty Acres”, Muschamp made his official return to Austin in spectacular fashion. As the Longhorns defense produced three turnovers, eight tackles for loss highlighted by Graceson Littleton’s 59-yard scoop and score which all but put the Bobcats away in a game they dominated from whistle to whistle.
No disrespect to former Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, but the intensity and attention to detail the Longhorns displayed on Saturday shows the profound effect Muschamp has already has on a defensive unit which is poised to be much improved this season. With Ohio State coming to town next week, we will be able to see quickly if Texas’ defensive unit is able to dominate a big time opponent on a national stage.
At the end of the day, Muschamp was brought back to Austin to beat the Ohio State’s, Texas A&M’s and Georgia’s of the world not Texas State.
3. Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown Are The Dynamic Duo Texas Needs To Reach Their Offensive Peak
As great of a quarterback Manning is morphing into, for him to reach his full potential he needs a consistent productive running game to match his passing abilities.
Enter Smothers and Brown who transferred their way to Austin this summer to give Manning and company the consistent run game they lacked last season. Despite the small sample size, it’s easy to see the added dimensions the two talented running backs give to Texas’ explosive offense.
In Saturday’s blowout win, the dynamic duo combined for 104 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards and three touchdowns while showing how their combined abilities turn Texas offense from a Toyota GR Supra into a Ferrari F355.
Smothers and Brown’s versatility helped Texas convert 11-of-15 third downs and will definitely be needed to take down the Buckeye’s next week. If they can make Saturday’s performance the standard, the Longhorns could have finally found the missing ingredient they’ve been without which has led to them coming up short in recent big time games against Ohio State.
