With a marquee matchup at Michigan set for Week 2, Texas football first took care of business in its opener.
Junior quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as Texas rolled to a 52-0 win over Colorado State at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches preseason polls, the Longhorns improved to 4-0 in season openers during the Steve Sarkisian era.
Saturday was UT’s first season-opening shutout since 2004.
Up next for Texas (1-0) is next week’s trip to see No. 8 Michigan, which won the national championship last season.
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Texas Longhorns receiver Isaiah Bond (7) catches a pass during the game against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
The UT offense stalled on its first drive of the season, and its third possession was undone by an interception in Colorado State territory. But Texas still entered the first half with a 31-0 lead as Quintrevion Wisner scored the first touchdown of the Longhorns’ season on a 3-yard run, Bert Auburn kicked a 45-yard field goal and transfer receivers Matthew Golden (Houston) and Isaiah Bond (Alabama) combined for three touchdown catches.
In addition to piecing together five scoring drives in the first half, the Ewers-directed offense at Texas compiled 309 yards over the first 30 minutes. But that offensive output was arguably a secondary storyline during the halftime break.
Texas held Colorado State to 78 yards of offense in the first half, and senior cornerback Jahdae Barron intercepted a Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi pass. Colorado State averaged 26.1 points per game and boasted a top-10 passing offense last season, but Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi went 6-for-12 for just 25 yards in the first half.
Last season, Texas ranked 113th out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision-level defenses with the 254.5 passing yards it allowed per game.
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One season after it went 5-7, Colorado State never cut into that halftime deficit in the second half. Ewers was pulled midway through the third quarter with Texas holding a 38-0 lead, and backup quarterback Arch Manning immediately led Texas two additional touchdowns drives that were capped by his 5-yard pass to Silas Bolden and a short sneak into the end zone.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football beats Colorado State Rams to open 2024 season
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Publish date : 2024-08-31 11:43:00
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