No. 1 Texas Improves to 4-0 as Blue Leads Rout

© Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns improved to 4-0 with a 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe (2-1) on Sept. 21 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, completing the nonconference portion of their schedule undefeated.

It's becoming a bit redundant, but Texas again took control early and never looked back as redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning made his first career start in place of an injured Quinn Ewers.

Game Summary

The only blemishes on the night for the Longhorns were 2 interceptions from Manning. Still, he looked generally unphased by the college game as Texas mounted 7 scoring drives.

The Longhorns outgained ULM 183-27 during a 3-touchdown first-quarter barrage and held the Warhawks to just 10 total yards in the second half and 111 on the night.

Junior running back Jaydon Blue scored 4 total touchdowns—3 rushing and 1 receiving—to go with 127 total yards as Texas' top offensive weapon in the game. Emerging freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo also caught a wide-open touchdown pass on a fade route to the corner of the end zone.

While No. 1 Texas had mainly used its passing game to its advantage over its first three games, it turned to the running game in this one. The Longhorns had 239 total rushing yards and scored 5 of its 7 touchdowns with six different players carrying the ball.

Manning finished his night playing in three quarters of action. He had 258 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

ULM did not have a player account for more than 34 yards of offense. Starting quarterback General Booty had 42 passing yards but also minus-8 rushing yards.

The Texas defense also added a safety in the second half.

Turning Point for Texas

Manning's first interception came on the game's first drive. He avoided a sack and hurled a pass toward the sideline and into traffic while taking a hit from a defender. It gave the Warhawks the ball with a chance to take an early lead, but the Texas Longhorns' defense forced the Warhawks to lose 7 yards on 3 plays to get the ball back.

The second interception gave ULM a chance to cut into the lead again just before halftime, but it missed a field goal attempt and was outscored 23-0 the rest of the game.

What it Means

No. 1 Texas completes its nonconference schedule at 4-0, including a big road win against No. 18 Michigan (3-1). Ewers will be the quarterback when healthy, but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has already stated that Ewers will begin this week listed as questionable for the Sept. 28 game against Mississippi State (1-3).

© Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

There should not be any concern over which quarterback plays in that game. It is a game that Texas should win. The Longhorns have three ranked opponents remaining (No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia and No. 25 Texas A&M) this season. Texas has yet to really be challenged in a game.

ULM heads into Sun Belt Conference play at 2-1 and hosts a struggling Troy (1-3) team on Sept. 28. Its biggest remaining challenges are James Madison (3-0), Texas State (2-1) and Auburn (2-2).