Live Notes from Texas State vs No. 5 Texas

Follow along as our Devon Messinger jots down notes from the press box during today’s matchup between the Texas State Bobcats and the Texas Longhorns.

Pregame:

Senior left tackle Trevor Goosby was listed in the starting lineup for the Longhorns. That is promising news as Goosby suffered a bone bruise in his left knee a few weeks ago, leaving fans holding their breath about his health status prior to the season.

Along with Goosby’s starting spot, it was announced that transfer Laurence Seymore III would be starting at left guard over Dylan Sikorski.

First Quarter:

Before we enter this year of play, I will be very curious to see who emerges offensively for the Longhorns. From a running back perspective, will one of either Hollywood Smothers or Raleek Brown take over the game? And, at wideout, who outside of the top three receivers will make a name for themselves?

Well, that happened fast. Potentially answering my previous question, transfer running back Hollywood Smothers breaks out a 45-yard run on his first touch. A few plays later, fellow transfer Cam Coleman catches a 6-yard touchdown pass from Arch Manning. The Longhorns needed some serious reinforcements offensively, and those transfers are already make a big impact early.

On the flip side, in drive number two, both Raleek Brown and Ryan Wingo had nice moments. Brown had a first down-earning reception while Wingo had an impressive 21-yard catch along the sideline and later a 8-yard reception. Last season, Wingo struggled at times with making difficult catches and his first catch of the season was just that.

At quarterback for Texas State, Brad Jackson is doing a solid job of escaping pressure from the Texas defensive line. There have been several near sacks, however Jackson has been able to extend plays with his legs.

So far today, it is obvious that the Texas coaches planned to heavily rotate their players on both sides of the ball. Defensively against Texas State, Will Muschamp has shuffled several defensive lineman in and out of action.

Second Quarter:

The second quarter has been a productive one, starting with a Raleek Brown 13-yard touchdown rush, Texas’ first rushing touchdown of the season. The Brown touchdown followed a drive in which Texas State missed a 24-yard field goal.

Later in the quarter, the Longhorns secondary went to work with a 59-yard touchdown by Graceson Littleton on a fumble recovery, forced by linebacker Rasheem Biles.

It finally happened, Texas State found the end zone thanks to quarterback Brad Jackson’s ability to lead his team down the field. After finding a way to escape the pressure with a clever throw and then later a well-timed scramble, the Bobcats were in solid position. Afterwards, running back Davian Jackson entered the team’s first points with a quick 4-yard touchdown rush which cuts Texas’ lead to 28-7 with just under four minutes left in the first half.

Unfortunately, the first half for the Longhorns ended with a thud. After a beautiful 45-yard pass to Ryan Wingo, Arch Manning threw an interception in the end zone following a non-call holding penalty on the previous play. Instead of a potential touchdown on the non-call play, Texas turns the ball over.

Overall, the Longhorns played a very solid first half, but has struggled to bring down Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson. Otherwise, the only other complaint Longhorn fans should have was the Manning interception to end the half.

Third Quarter:

I think every fan should be excited to see Cam Coleman wearing burnt orange. In the offseason, Steve Sarkisian was able to secure Coleman, the nation’s top portal target from Auburn. To kick off the first half of action, Coleman had a 44-yard reception before making an impressive catch in the end zone later in the drive for his second touchdown of the game.

After seeing teammate Raleek Brown with a touchdown earlier in the game, fellow running back Hollywood Smothers found the scoreboard with a 13-yard touchdown reception. Both Brown and Smothers have showcased their playmaking ability today, even while remaining relatively quiet so far today.

With about six minutes left in the third quarter, Steve Sarkisian pulled Arch Manning out of the game with the team already up big, giving sophomore KJ Lacey a chance at some snaps.

After Smothers found the end zone, Brown did once again – this time on a 22-yard rushing touchdown. It is already apparent that Texas now has the potential at making explosive plays out of the backfield, something that has been missing these last couple of seasons.

Final Notes:

Texas did just about everything that they needed to do on Saturday: win big and play the bench. Next weekend, the Longhorns will host the Ohio State Buckeyes, the nation’s top team.