The Texas Longhorns had another impressive showing on Saturday, defeating the UTSA Roadrunners 56-7. Despite the impressive performance by the Longhorns, the offense took a blow to its starting lineup. Heisman favorite and starting quarterback Quinn Ewers left the game with a strained abdomen in the second quarter and did not return. As mentioned by Steve Sarkisian on Monday, it doesn’t look too serious and Ewers is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against UL-Monroe. Let’s dive into the grades from an impressive win which vaulted the Longhorns to their No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2008 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Sunday.
Offense: A-
The offense continued its scoring onslaught, dropping 49 points in this game. Typically, this will earn you an A+, but there were a few things the Longhorns need to clean up. First, false starts by the offensive line. This seems to be an issue each week for Kyle Flood’s group. It cannot be reiterated enough that good opponents will take advantage of these types of penalties and capitalize on them. The turnover by Ewers early on in the game was caused by a bad throw, but it may have been in part to the minor thumb injury he sustained on the first touchdown throw to Isiah Bond.
After Arch Manning replaced an injured Quinn Ewers, the offense didn’t miss a beat. Manning scored touchdowns on two of his first three plays, the second of which was a 67 yard rushing touchdown. Arch went on to have five total touchdowns in his 29 snaps. With Ewers injured, the in-game reps Manning took were invaluable for this team moving forward. Should Ewers miss any more playing time, Manning showed he is more than capable of leading the Texas offense.
Defense: A
Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense continues to impress. With the exception of missed tackles on a rush that led to UTSA’s only touchdowns, they played nearly perfect. Obviously SEC offenses will prove much more difficult moving forward, but giving up an average of just over 6 points per game through three games is remarkable. Last week mimicked the first two games for Texas – they go constant pressure and contained the run game.
The Roadrunners had 260 yards of offense and averaged just 3.3 yards a carry, even with a 53 yard touchdown run. Kenny Baker’s hiring as defensive line coordinator in the offseason seems to have paid off as the run defense looks just as stout as it did last last year. Not to mention, it looks like the Longhorns have a much better pass defense this year as well. Linebacker Ethan Burke tallied a defensive score thanks to an athletic interception that ended as a pick six. Colin Simmons continues to look the part as he got another sack and had two tackles for loss. Simmons will continue to get better each week and his snap count should go up each week.
Special Teams: A
Special Teams was once again not tested much as Bert Auburn had zero field goal attempts. Punter Michael Kern saw his most action so far four punts an just under a 46 yard average. He has increased his distance although he had none inside the 20. Kern will continue to get better with more reps, although Sarkisian clearly does not want to see too many punts.
One complaint about this Texas team is the kick/punt coverage and their habit of not staying in their lanes. Punt returner Silas Bolden continues to take risky returns by not calling for fair catches. That is a dangerous game to play and an area the Longhorns can clean up moving forward.
