3-2-1: Texas completes non-conference play with a 51-3 win over ULM
The Texas Longhorns dominated the ULM Warhawks on Saturday to close non-conference play and earn a 51-3 win and a 4-0 record.
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Here are three key plays, two critical players, and one major moment from the Longhorns’ 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Three Plays
Play 1: Arch Manning to Isaiah Bond for a 56-yard gain in the first quarter
Texas took the ball to start the game after ULM won the coin toss and elected to defer, putting Arch Manning on the field right away in his first career start. Things started okay, with completions of six and 16 yards for a 2-for-4 opening.
Then, while under pressure and staring down two teammates between several ULM defenders, Manning fired a pass to the right side of the field while taking a hit.
Everybody remembers their first. Congratulations to Carl Fauntroy, whose name will go down in history as the player who picked off Manning for the first time in his career.
For young quarterbacks, the response to mistakes is extremely important. So what did Manning do on his very next drive? He stepped up into the pocket and launched a 56-yard pass to Isaiah Bond.
Manning was confident in the well-formed pockets the Longhorn O-line gave him for much of the first half. When players like No. 81 Juan Davis are making the extra blocks needed to give a young QB making his first career start a chance to connect downfield, it is the type of thing that fosters development Steve Sarkisian and company want to see from the young and talented Manning. Jaydon Blue finished the job a few plays later with the first of his three first-half touchdowns.
It wasn’t a perfect first-half for Manning as he finished 11-for-21 for 214 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. For the game, he was 15-for-29 for 258 yards with the same TD and INT total.
Play 2: Anthony Hill intercepts General Booty and returns the ball 35 yards
Hill had a quality first half, netting three tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss in the opening 30 minutes. He had a pick-six wiped off the board due to a block in the back call against Trey Moore, a call that was ticky-tack and could have gone the other way since diving at a player without the ball to try to subvert a play is flag-worthy.
The interception and penalty put Texas on the three, and Blue scored his second TD of the night a few plays later.
Hill has been a strong commander of the defense so far this season, donning the helmet communication device that has him hearing directly from Pete Kwiatkowski on a down-to-down basis. While his stats ended with a meager three tackles as more and more backup and third-string players rotated into the blowout, Hill set the tone early with his pick-six called off by penalty.
He even showed a little swagger, and not just after the interception. He gave a very celebratory dance following an early sack of Booty that exuded confidence in his ability.
Hill is having an All-Conference type season already and could be on his way for greater honors if he plays like he did in the early stages of the game during the Warhawks’ opening script.
Play 3: Liona Lefau tackles Ozarrio Smith in the end zone for a safety
Lefau followed up his quality stuff last week against UTSA with yet another tackle for loss, and this one put points on the board.
While Hill and David Gbenda are the starters at middle linebacker, Lefau could start and succeed at either of those spots if such services were needed. He’s shown instinctive play over the course of the early portions of the season, and that’s in addition to his great work on special teams.
Lefau earned a moment in the spotlight and two points on the scoreboard for the Longhorns in what’s been a strong 2024.
Two Players
Blue tallied 25 carries for a career-high 124 yards and three touchdowns, plus one reception for three-yard touchdown score for a fantastic four-touchdown day. He was worked hard and answered the bell for a 5.0 yard per carry average on a day where Quintrevion Wisner did not play a snap.
Even with the successes, there were some mistake plays made by the junior back. A few routes were not run with enough effort leaving points on the board on one occasion and being part of a turnover when a Manning pass bounced off his hands.
Still, his explosive athletic ability shined as did a new trait only made evident thanks to a 26-touch day: the capability to be a player Sarkisian can utilize over and over and over to get yardage inside and outside.
Blue’s best work was during the early portions of the third quarter. On a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive that ended with a Jerrick Gibson touchdown run, Blue accounted for 44 yards.
Sarkisian is likely to comment on his consistency, and the injury suffered versus Michigan that kept him out of the UTSA contest should be considered a factor in his lapses. But Blue made the most of his chances with lots to shore up ahead of SEC play.
Arch Manning
For as many five-star flashes Manning showed, there were a number of mistakes players who are making their first career start tend to make. There were forced passes into coverage, dropped snaps, errant throws and, worst of all for Sarkisian, turnovers.
Manning is unique for a freshman in that he stands in the pocket with confidence. Scrambling wasn’t in the plan for the player who rushed for a 67-yard score last week, especially with Quinn Ewers on the shelf this week. Manning had just one rush for -4 yards and didn’t look to take off or move the pocket all that often.
So inside the pocket he operated, and thanks to his O-line he did that confidently. Still, some mistakes were made. It was the type of performance for him to learn from, but there were also some excellent moments for him to take from his first start.
One of those was the previously mentioned throw to Bond.
Or this one to Ryan Wingo.
Or this one to Matthew Golden.
Sarkisian’s assessment of Manning’s performance is likely to be supportive of the ups and harshly critical of the downs. It looked like a redshirt freshman’s first start, but the five-star flashes were easy to see.
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One Moment
As the final whistle sounded, it signaled that the Longhorns are entering SEC play undefeated with wins over three overmatched Group of Five teams and a Michigan squad that was able to top the USC Trojans on Saturday in a thrilling 27-23 contest.
Southeastern Conference play doesn’t bring a major challenge to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium immediately as Mississippi State, who lost to Florida on Saturday and lost starting quarterback Blake Shapen for the season, earns the honor of visiting Austin for the Longhorns’ first ever SEC game.
As the Longhorns complete the first third of the season without a blemish, they do so awaiting the return of their regular starter Ewers and with a team ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Four down. Eight more (and likely many more) to go.
