No. 1 Texas keeps rolling in Manning’s 1st start

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning earned his first career win as a starter and Jaydon Blue scored four touchdowns as No. 1 Texas ran over Louisiana-Monroe 51-3 on Saturday night.

The Longhorns took over the No. 1 ranking last week for the first time since 2008 and made quick work of the Warhawks with Manning starting in place of injured regular starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was out with an abdominal strain.

Texas (4-0) leaned on Blue early and he scored three of the Longhorns’ first four touchdowns on two short runs and a pass from Manning. Manning’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo made it 28-0.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning. He was one of the highest-rated recruits in the country coming out of high school after the 2022 season.

Arch Manning earned the personal milestone win, but wasn’t as sharp as his flawless performance against UTSA a week earlier, when he threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score after Ewers was hurt.

Manning was 15-of-29 passing for 259 yards and two touchdowns against the Warhawks (2-1), with some forced throws, missed receivers and two interceptions. He left the game early in the fourth quarter after Blue’s final touchdown.

Manning graded himself a “C-plus” for the game.

“Obviously there’s a lot to improve on, stuff that I want back, but it’s a good first win,” Manning said.

Blue finished with 124 yards rushing. He did not play in Texas’ previous game because of a nagging ankle injury.

“It was great to have Jaydon Blue back,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s a weapon. He can get to the edge, but a lot of his yards are between the tackles.”

Texas played its final non-conference game before it starts its first SEC schedule at home next week against Mississippi State.

“The preseason is over,” Sarkisian said. “We don’t need to do anything different. The guys know that when we do it right, we can perform at a pretty high level.”

Takeaways

Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks have already equaled last season’s win total and a lopsided loss to top-ranked Texas won’t ding their hopes for a decent season in the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks were able to dial up some pass rush pressure on Manning.

Texas: The game was a perfect learning chance for Manning, who clearly does not fear any throw and forced several into double or even triple coverage. He also continues to show off a powerful arm on deep balls. It is unclear when Ewers will return, although coach Steve Sarkisian suggested he will be the starter when he does.

“He took his shots. We hit them and missed a couple,” Sarkisian said. “Lessons learned. That’s what tonight was about.”

Tough defense

Texas held an opponent out of the end zone for the second time this season and has allowed just two touchdowns in four games. Jay’Vion Cole’s interception in the final two minutes snuffed what looked like a wide-open flea flicker by the Warhawks. Texas has allowed just 22 total points this season.

Poll position

There’s no reason to think Texas would not stay No. 1 after a third 50-point performance on the season.

Up next

Louisiana-Monroe plays at Troy on Sept. 28 in the Warhawks’ Sun Belt Conference opener.

Texas hosts Mississippi State on Sept. 28 in the Longhorns’ SEC opener.

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