No. 1 Texas stays on course for success, beating ULM 51-3 in the last game before SEC play

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

The Longhorns took over the No. 1 pick for the first time since 2008 last week and made short work of the Warhawks, with Manning instead of injured regular starting quarterback Quinn Ewerswho was out due to an abdominal strain.

Texas (4-0) went for Blue early and scored three of the Longhorns’ first four touchdowns on two short runs and a pass from Manning. Manning’s touchdown pass in the second quarter 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 quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. He was one of the highest-rated recruits in the country coming out of high school following the 2022 season.

Arch Manning achieved the personal milestone victory, but was not as sharp as his flawless performance against UTSA a week earlier, when he threw five touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown after Ewers was injured.

Manning completed 15 of 29 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns against the Warhawks (2-1), while having a few forced throws, missed pass receivers and two interceptions. He left the game early in the fourth quarter after Blue’s final touchdown.

Manning gave himself a grade of “C+” for the game.

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

Blue finished with 124 yards. He had not played in Texas’ last game due to a persistent ankle injury.

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

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

“The preseason is over,” Sarkisian said. “We don’t have to do anything differently. The guys know that if we do it right, we can play at a pretty high level.”

Findings

Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks have already matched their win total from last season, and a blowout loss to top-ranked Texas won’t dampen their hopes of a decent season in the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks were able to put some pressure on Manning in the pass rush.

Texas: The game was a perfect learning opportunity for Manning, who clearly isn’t afraid to throw and forced several players into double and even triple coverage. He also continues to show a strong throwing arm on long balls. It’s unclear when Ewers will return, although coach Steve Sarkisian has indicated he will be the starter then.

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

Hard 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 thwarted what looked like a completely unanticipated attempt by the Warhawks. Texas has allowed just 22 points total this season.

Survey results

There is no reason to believe that Texas would not remain No. 1 after its third 50-point performance of the season.

Next

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

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