On paper, the record will state that the Texas football team beat UTSA on Saturday night. The No. 3 Longhorns scored 56 points. They held the Roadrunners to seven.
That result will be important to the standings and polls. Eventually the score will mean something to historians. But to an announced crowd of 101,892 at Royal-Memorial Stadium, all of that was inconsequential.
What really mattered was that Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers exited the game in the second quarter with what head coach Steve Sarkisian described as an oblique strain. And what may have mattered even more was how backup quarterback Arch Manning, the former five-star recruit and heralded nephew of Peyton and Eli, played in Ewers’ absence.
Manning accounted for five touchdowns in Saturday’s rout for the Longhorns (3-0), the No. 2 team in the Associated Press poll and the No. 3 team in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Texas hosts Louisiana-Monroe next.
“He’s a baller,” Longhorns tight end Gunnar Helm said of Manning. “If we ever need him, he doesn’t flinch. He steps into his role really well and he’s an elite quarterback.”
TAKEAWAYS: Week 3 win vs UTSA shines light on run game, Arch Manning’s talent
Sarkisian said that UT coaches and trainers noticed something was wrong with Ewers after he connected with Helm for a 49-yard gain in the second quarter. After handing off to Quintrevion Wisner on the following play, Ewers began to dejectedly walk toward the sideline. He was tended to by trainers on the field before he left the game. He returned from the locker room later in the quarter in street clothes and remained on the sideline.
Exit Ewers, enter Manning.
Arch Manning was quick out of the gate
When he entered the game with 12:19 remaining in the second quarter, Manning was greeted by a large round of applause from the DKR crowd. The redshirt freshman quickly elicited an even louder cheer. On his first snap, Manning faked a handoff and connected with DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
“Obviously you’re a little nervous when you first get called in, but I think Sark drew up a first good play,” Manning said. “It was good to score on the first play.”
Then, only 63 seconds later, Manning took off on a 67-yard touchdown run that countered a 53-yard UTSA score and put Texas up 28-7 at halftime. In the second half, Manning threw three touchdown passes — 51 yards to Isaiah Bond, 75 to Ryan Wingo and 12 to Johntay Cook II. He was pulled with 12:16 left in the game as Texas gave third-string quarterback Trey Owens some reps. Over roughly 30 minutes of game time, Manning was 9-of-12 for 223 yards.
“It helps when you have great players around you and good coaches,” he said. “Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo, the O-line, they all played really well and they make it a little bit easier for me.”
Texas’ win was hardly a one-man show
After the game, Manning was greeted by a large scrum of reporters as he participated in his first media availability within the Austin city limits. But he wasn’t the only Longhorn who earned an invitation to the postgame meeting with reporters.
Bond and Wingo also spoke after each topped 100 receiving yards and combined to catch three touchdowns. And freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons was invited to the press conference after recording six tackles and his second sack of the season. Cornerback Jahdae Barron was there, too, after he helped thwart UTSA’s early fourth-and-1 run in UT territory while the game was still close.
In victory, Texas also got a pair of touchdown catches from Cook and a game-high 11 tackles from linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. And edge rusher Ethan Burke returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown in the waning moments.
“The short answer is (we are) very deep,” Helm said. “I think it gives in to the culture and we all trust each other. Sark plays the guys that he trusts, and honestly for most of our team, it’s all of us.”
Texas’ passing game masked running game issues
If there is something to nitpick about, it’s that Texas rushed for only 187 yards. Take out Manning’s long touchdown run and the Longhorns averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Freshman Jerrick Gibson led the team with 75 yards.
Before the game, Texas announced that starting running back Jaydon Blue would be sidelined by a sprained ankle. Blue was injured in the first half of last week’s win over Michigan, but he later returned to the game at Michigan Stadium and then participated in both the postgame media availability and Monday’s meeting with the media.
But Texas felt Blue wasn’t ready to play, so Wisner got the start. Wisner, though, also suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday. Sarkisian said he could have returned to the game if needed, but UT wanted to get its reserve running backs some playing time.
“We felt pretty good, especially with the score where it was,” Sarkisian said. “I think if it was a tighter game, Tre could have kept going.”
After the game, Sarkisian didn’t offer a timetable for Ewers’ return. “(It) remains to be seen the seriousness of that and the length of that,” he said.
This marks the third straight year that Ewers has missed playing time because of an injury. Shoulder issues sidelined him for three games in 2022 and two games in 2023.
“I think mentally because Quinn has been through it and I think because those other injuries he got with the shoulder were so structural and they were contact-type injuries, I think he’s probably in a better spirit,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to do everything in our part to get him as healthy as we can as quickly as possible.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 13:00:00
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