Grading the Longhorns in their 51-3 win over UL-Monroe

The Texas Longhorns wrapped up their non-conference slate on Saturday with yet another impressive victory, defeating UL-Monroe 51-3 in impressive fashion. The Longhorns are currently on track to meet their preseason goals and open SEC play this weekend against Mississippi State. Despite the 4-0 start, there are always areas in which this team can improve. Let’s dive into how the three phases of Texas’ game graded out on Saturday.

Offense: B+

A B+ may seem like a low grade for an offense that scored seven touchdowns, but Texas was favored by more than six touchdowns for a reason. The offense was expected to have their way with the Warhawks and did for the most part. The two interceptions Arch Manning threw in his debut account for the B+. Manning’s first interception came on a forced pass in double coverage. His second came on a ball that was thrown a little high to Jaydon Blue, who still could have caught it. Manning bounced back and had a great night on offense, proving his resiliency and command of the mental side of the game.

The offensive line had another week of penalties, this time in the form of DJ Campbell and Kelvin Banks. While Texas won by a large margin, those penalties could potentially kill drives against tougher competition. It certainly wasn’t all bad though, Manning had several beautiful passes downfield to Ryan Wingo, Matthew Golden and Isiah Bond. Should Quinn Ewers miss another game, Arch will surely improve on his deep ball accuracy and not forcing throws. Jaydon Blue’s return led to four touchdowns for him and his presence on the field will be a tremendous help to the offense.

Defense: A+

Anytime a defense holds an opposing offense to 111 total yards is considered a great day at the office. The Texas defense nearly outscored the Warhawks themselves. The Longhorns managed a safety and then had a questionable block in the back to negate an Anthony Hill pick-6. Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense had two sacks on Saturday, both coming from the linebacker position – one by Anthony Hill and one by Liona Lefau. Both players looked like they were shot out of a cannon on the sack plays. PK is drawing up exotic looks where the offense has no idea where pressure is coming from.

Teams aren’t testing cornerback Malik Muhammad much, but when they do they aren’t having much luck. He looks to be the first lockdown corner the Longhorns have had since Holton Hill in 2017. UL-Monroe was just 11/25 with 54 yards. Any team that is able to pass on the Longhorns this season will have earned every yard they get. The Texas secondary is the most improved unit on the 2024 team.

Special Teams: A

Once again, outside of Bert Auburn kicking extra points, the special teams unit wasn’t needed much on Saturday. Auburn was 7-7 in PAT’s and punter Michael Kern was needed only twice. Kern averaged 45.5 yards per punt and both punts landed inside the 20.

Kick Returner Matthew Golden showed flashes of what we saw at Houston last year. Golden had a 31 yard kick return and moving forward he is likely to break a long one – it is just a matter of time. He was one of the best returners in his time at Houston and Silas Bolden is showing explosiveness on punt returns as well. Bolden continues to sometimes take the ball on a bounce, which is dicey. It hasn’t come back to bite him yet and hopefully it won’t in the future.