Follow along as our Devon Messinger jots down notes from the press box during tonight’s matchup between the Sam Houston Bearkats and the Texas Longhorns.
First Quarter:
The Longhorns started their first drive from offense with a touchdown rush from Jerrick Gibson. It was a promising first drive as Arch Manning looked (slightly) more comfortable throwing the football. However, the quarterback’s accuracy continues to look inconsistent.
Defensively, the Longhorns started the contest with two sacks on their first two drives, thanks to Colin Simmons and Trey Moore. Despite a plethora of talent at the edge rushing positions, the team has struggled to bring down quarterbacks so far this season.
On Texas’ second drive from offense, Manning looked more locked in with help from Jerrick Gibson who picked up a pair of first downs with his legs. To cap off the drive, Manning, the ’16-Wheeler,’ found his way into the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown rush.
Second Quarter:
Once again, on Texas’ next drive, Arch Manning scored a touchdown via a 32-yard throw to tight end Jordan Washington, who was wide open. On the previous play, wide receiver Ryan Wingo gashed the Bearkat defense on a big 32-yard end-around rush as well. It’s safe to say the Steve Sarkisian’s offense is feeling comfortable against this Sam Houston team.
At wide receiver, DeAndre Moore is having a much needed game for the position group. After missing last weekend’s game due to an injury, Moore is already approaching 100 receiving yards tonight against Sam Houston. In my opinion, Texas’ issues at receiver stem from both a) a lack of top-level talent and b) a lack of depth. Unfortunately, both of these points are aided by the team’s lack of experience at the position. As a result, DeAndre Moore’s leadership is deeply needed at the position this season.
The opponent may be Sam Houston, but Texas’ defense continues to look elite. They are well-rounded at multiple levels and have talented depth waiting in the wings. Through one half of play, Sam Houston has not been able to reliably move the football on any level.
Lastly, Arch Manning and the Texas offense played a great first half of football. Of course, the whole team has surely heard the criticisms so far this season but they look like a well-oiled machine today.
Third Quarter:
What a throw to start the second half of action by Arch Manning. Texas’s Q1 absolutely unloaded the cork on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo which might of scraped the moon. It’s clear that Manning’s struggles this year have not been due to a shoulder injury, which fans should be delighted to see. To succeed, Arch will need games like this in order to boost his confidence and he’s doing just that tonight.
On special teams, Ryan Niblett has looked much better than he did to start the year. While he has struggled to catch a few of today’s punts cleanly, he has applied pressure to the opposition with a few of his returns.
For the second time today, Arch Manning and Ryan Wingo have connected for a touchdown. The Longhorns have desperately needed any positive signs of life in the passing game and they’ve gotten just that today. Both Manning and Wingo were needing confidence-inspiring games entering tonight’s game and they have done just that.
Fourth Quarter:
It turns out that the Texas offense DOES have the ability to find the end zone, as evident by tonight’s game. To add to the scoring action, redshirt freshman Christian Clark found the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown rush.
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