The No. 1 Texas Longhorns did what elite teams do against inferior talent – they dominated and luckily came out of the game healthy against the ULM Warhawks, winning 51-3 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Texas might have been looking forward to its SEC opener against Mississippi State, but they looked solid on defense and the offense showed what they need to work on in the meantime.
Arch Manning is still a freshman quarterback
When Manning came in and was electric as a replacement for Quinn Ewers against UTSA, there was talk that he would keep his starting spot even after Ewers returned. His Heisman odds rose as Vegas tried to separate the jerks from their money, and the storyline continued all week.
Although Manning played well enough to help Texas win against ULM, there were situations where his experience could have paid off. Both of his interceptions came on plays where he would have had other options, including throwing away, but he chose to put the ball in danger instead. Even when the ball wasn’t lost, throws with a low chance of success on checkdowns put Texas in bad situations and higher pressure situations.
Jaydon Blue is fit for the league games
The speedy running back has a lot to carry as running back health continues to be an issue. Quintrevion Wisner is now banged up, as are the other two players already out for the season. Although it was less spectacular and fans are still waiting for his big run, Blue looked like a running back on the field who can handle any assignment.
Blue averaged just under five yards per carry and scored three touchdowns on his 25 attempts, which is a career high, in addition to his one touchdown as a pass receiver. Perhaps most importantly, Blue appears to have taken a step forward in his pass-blocking skills. The Longhorns will need that ability as Wisner gets healthy and Jerrick Gibson grows into his role as the Horns’ every-down back.
The defense can be disruptive
We’re two games removed from Texas barely being able to apply any pressure on the road against Michigan. The Longhorns’ front line played much of its day on the other side of the ball. Texas brought down ULM’s quarterbacks twice, added five more quarterback hurries, and suffered six tackles for loss. As a team, ULM managed a total of 2.3 yards per carry, with the running backs combining for 3.75 yards per carry.
Perhaps most importantly, Texas was disrupted from multiple angles. Linebacker Liona Lefau, who led the team in tackles, made several stellar plays in the backfield, while buck end Ethan Burke chipped in with a TFL and a pass defense. ULM was unable to get anything done on offense because of these efforts, finishing the game with 111 yards of offense, an average of 2.2 yards per play.
