Texas had every reason to expect a smoother night than the one it got Saturday.
A week after the noise and adrenaline of beating Ohio State, the No. 1 Longhorns returned home and handled UTSA 30-6 to move to 3-0.
The result was comfortable enough. The performance, though, never really found its rhythm.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t call it a hangover, but he acknowledged the challenge of staying sharp after such a high and through a week packed with distractions. The game itself backed that up. Texas flashed early, then spent most of the night stuck in neutral.
“I just felt like offensively we started off in a pretty good groove, and then it was just kind of a choppy game,” Sarkisian said. “You know, it just felt choppy, and you know when you look at the stats, there were 20 penalties in the game, about 200 yards, and so the flow of the game just could never really get going for us offensively.”
The opening sequence looked like Texas might cruise. Senior linebacker Rasheem Biles intercepted UTSA quarterback Owen McCown on the first play of the game, and a few minutes later senior quarterback Arch Manning hit junior wide receiver Cam Coleman for a 24-yard touchdown. Coleman struck again four minutes into the second quarter, and Texas seemed poised to roll.
Instead, the offense went flat.
Texas didn’t reach the end zone again until nine minutes remained in the fourth quarter, when freshman running back Derrek Cooper scored his first career touchdown. In between, the Longhorns slogged through a stretch that looked like this: punt, punt, field goal kick, punt, turnover on downs, punt.
The issues weren’t isolated to one area. Manning finished 16-for-32, Texas struggled on third down, and the penalties kept breaking up any chance at momentum. Still, the ground game gave the Longhorns something to build on, with Texas rushing for 228 yards.
Sarkisian said the identity is there, but the team has to tighten the execution around it.
“We’ve got to clean stuff up, I get that,” Sarkisian said. “I think we’ve got to tie it all together.
Identity-wise, I feel good about it. The consistency of the identity, I think, is where we’ve got to sharpen our swords on that stuff.”
Defensively, Texas had a far cleaner night. Will Muschamp’s unit kept UTSA out of the end zone entirely and held the Roadrunners to 142 total yards.
So Texas leaves with the win and without much room for complaint. But with the Longhorns heading out of Austin for the first time this season next week, Saturday served as a reminder that getting by and playing clean are two very different things.
In Other News...
Texas Heads Into SEC Play With One Big Offensive Concern
Texas finished its non-conference slate unbeaten and healthy after a 30-6 win over UTSA, and that alone is a useful place to be heading into SEC play. The Longhorns got the kind of defensive outing they have come to expect, holding the Roadrunners to 143 total yards, while Derrick Cooper Jr. added a fresh wrinkle in the backfield with 44 yards and a touchdown.
The bigger question sits on the other side of the ball, where Arch Mannings day underscored both the upside and the unevenness of the passing game. He threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, but the rhythm was not always there, leaving Texas with a little bit to clean up before the competition gets much tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Major Defensive Concern Before Tennessee
Texas got a jolt of concern on the defensive side when Colin Simmons was spotted on the sideline in street clothes and wearing a walking boot during the UTSA game. Simmons has been a key edge rusher for the Longhorns, so even the sight of him away from the action immediately changed the temperature around a unit that has otherwise tried to build more depth at that spot this season.
Steve Sarkisian did not offer an update on Simmons at halftime, and no official information has been released since, leaving Texas with more questions than answers as Tennessee approaches next week. The Longhorns have worked to add depth at edge rusher, but losing or even limiting a player like Simmons would be a significant development for a defense that needs as many answers as it can get right now. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Win Over UTSA Still Left Fans With One Big Concern
Texas handled UTSA in a 30-6 non-conference win, and there were enough encouraging signs to make the afternoon feel like a step in the right direction. Arch Manning came out sharp enough to set the tone, the running game found some support from Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown and Derrek Cooper, and Cam Coleman finished as the top target with two touchdown catches. On the other side of the ball, Texas did what it was supposed to do, holding UTSA to 70 rushing yards and getting an interception from Rasheem Biles.
Still, the result did not erase the biggest question hovering over the Longhorns afterward. Manning's line finished at 164 passing yards with two touchdowns, but the inconsistency showed up often enough that it left fans wanting more than just a comfortable win over an overmatched opponent. For a Texas team with bigger goals ahead, the margin of victory was fine, yet the passing game still has to look a lot steadier before the schedule gets more demanding. [Read more 🡒]