On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns entered their first game as the sport’s top-ranked team since 2008. Furthermore, Saturday’s game against ULM would also be remembered as Arch Manning’s first career start. Despite of some ups & downs, the Longhorns were able to clip the wings of the Warhawks in a 51-3 victory.
To begin, the first quarter was a thing of beauty. Through one quarter of play, the Longhorns offense torched ULM for 21 points. From the get-go, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was not afraid to dial up the big play for Arch Manning. And, while the timing of some of the throws could have been better, the redshirt freshman was getting it done. In fact, Manning finished the quarter (and later the game) with two passing touchdowns.
And while Manning was marching the team down field, Jaydon Blue was leading the troops into the end zone. After missing last weekend’s game against UTSA, Blue returned to action scoring four all-purpose touchdowns. Moreover, the junior running back amassed 124 rushing yards on 25 carries. It is needless to say that health will be a key determining factor of the team’s success this season, and Blue is a large part of that.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns defense continues to look strong. Besides from some small bumps in the second quarter, the Anthony Hill-led group looked happy to inflict pain on the Warhawks. At the linebacker position, both Anthony Hill and Liona Lefau finished the game with a sack. In addition to punishing quarterbacks physically, Hill also had an impressive second quarter interception which the Longhorn offense later capitalized on with a touchdown.
When it was all said and done, the Warhawks tallied 111 yards of total-offense. Yes, you read that right. Almost more impressive was holding ULM to 54 passing yards, a number which seems unfathomable in today’s day and age.
Now, shifting the focus back to the Texas. While there were several big plays by Texas wide receivers such as Isaiah Bond and Ryan Wingo, the majority of the passing game production came to a halt after the first quarter. Eventually, Arch Manning had ended the first half completing just a hair over 50% of his passes. Furthermore, he ended the contest even in the touchdown-to-interception ratio column with two per. However, the potential was also clearly on display. The young quarterback did not look fazed when things went wrong and continued to take downfield shots.
Next weekend, the Longhorns will look to continue to roll with Mississippi State coming to town. Moreover, Saturday’s game will be Texas’ first official SEC conference game ever.
