AUSTIN — Over the last two seasons, the Texas Longhorns haven’t performed well after ascending to No. 1 in the rankings, but Steve Sarkisian’s team has a chance to reverse that trend on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against a UTSA Roadrunners team that is a nearly 30-point underdog.
Ball security and third-down defense were both issues that Sarkisian wants corrected in the wake of last week’s thrilling 24-23 comeback against Ohio State as Texas goes through its final tuneup before embarking on its SEC schedule next week in Knoxville.
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Pregame warmups
Similar to last week, Texas warmed up in its new indoor practice facility — the offense came out onto Campbell-Williams Field with about an hour until kickoff, but the defense did not.
As expected, freshman running back Derrek Cooper was dressed after sustaining an ankle injury in the season opener against Texas State, but sophomore tight end Nick Townsend was not dressed. Townsend injured his knee last week. Also not dressed — sophomore defensive lineman Justus Terry, junior safety Kobe Black, and junior nickel back Xavier Filsaime.
First quarter
After winning the toss and deferring to the second half, Texas kicked off to start the game, a touchback.
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The playmaking ability of senior linebacker Rasheem Biles flashed again on an interception off the hands of wide receiver DJ Allen returned eight yards to the UTSA 22-yard line, but Texas started its opening drive at the 37-yard like after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the team’s bench.
No matter, as junior wide receiver Emmett Mosley V converted a 3rd and 5 with an eight-yard reception over the middle, a part of the field that senior quarterback Arch Manning immediately returned to, hitting junior wide receiver Cam Coleman on a double move for a 24-yard touchdown.
UTSA responded with a 12-yard run by speedy running back Will Henderson against a run blitz and another quick first down. Under pressure, quarterback Owen McCown did well to avoid senior linebacker Justin Cryer in the backfield to get a throw off ruled incomplete. Henderson made up for it, taking the edge for nine yards, then a direct snap moved the chains. The Longhorns put the Roadrunners behind the chains with a tackle for loss by senior cornerback Bo Mascoe on another run blitz and another play behind the line of scrimmage by freshman edge Richard Wesley, who was flagged for a horsecollar tackle.
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After a six-yard scramble by McCown, the issues containing Henderson continued with a 12-yard gain on the edge, but fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu got penetration and brought down Henderson on a draw play for a seven-yard loss. UTSA was able to regain the lost yardage before the speed rush of junior edge Colin Simmons dropped McCown in the backfield and forced the Roadrunners to settle for a 34-yard field goal.
The decision by senior Ryan Niblett to return the ensuing kickoff cost Texas 10 yards when the return only made it to the 15-yard line. Manning followed up the disappointing return by sailing a pass over the head of junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo, the second airmailed delivery in Manning’s first four attempts. Fifth-year running back Raleek Brown picked up five yards on a run to make it 3rd and 5 and Manning picked up the first down by finding Coleman over the middle for 13 yards, beating man coverage form an empty formation.
Manning didn’t see Coleman running open deep on the next play, instead throwing an incompletion intended for Wingo into coverage. The up-and-down play for Manning continued finding his burgeoning security blanket in Mosley for 12 yards. After a three-yard gain by Brown, Manning fumbled avoiding pressure in the pocket, but was able to scoop it up easily and hit senior running back Hollywood Smothers for an 11-yard completion.
Brown picked up another first down with a tough 15-yard gain fully negated by a personal foul penalty on fifth-year center Connor Robertson. Running up the middle, Brown gained eight yards, but suffered a tackle for loss on second down and Manning was sacked looking to pick convert 3rd and 5.
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Senior place kicker Gianni Spetic tucked his 52-yard field-goal attempt inside the right upright for a 10-3 lead.
A three-yard completion, false start, and run for no gain made it 3rd and 12 for the Roadrunners at the first quarter ended.
Second quarter
The screen pass set up by UTSA was broken up by Kanu, nearly leading to another interception and forcing the Roadrunners to punt, a 34-yard effort.
Into the game for the first time, Cooper picked up seven yards up the middle. After Cooper secured the first down on his second carry, Sarkisian went to the screen game — a 15-yard gain by freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop behind a crunching block by Wingo, an eight-yard gain by Mosley, and an eight-yard gain by Brown. A nifty 11-yard run by Smothers moved Texas inside the 5-yard line, and Coleman made his presence felt on a fade route for his second touchdown catch, this time from three yards out by high pointing the football.
After a five-yard gain by Henderson around the corner, a check down by McCown to Henderson resulted in a huge hit by senior safety Jelani McDonald, and the drive ended quickly as McCown threw the ball away under heavy pressure.
Niblett got loose on the return — exactly what UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor wanted to completely avoid — but the 34-yard return was negated by a block in the back on sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson.
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Looking for a shot play, Coleman got open again deep on a post route, but Manning’s throw was influenced by a hit as he delivered it, and the ball was overthrown by a wide margin.
A five-yard completion to Wingo and a run for no gain kept the offense out on the field for 4th and 5 from midfield, but Manning overthrew Mosley, who was well covered on a corner route, and Texas turned the ball over on downs.
On 3rd and 4 for UTSA, the Roadrunners were called for holding, allowing the Horns a chance to dial up some pressure, an opportunity declined by defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as McCown scrambled for six yards and Traylor made the decision to punt on 4th and 8, a punt caught by Niblett inside his own 10-yard line.
Three runs by Smothers made the yard to gain, and senior tight end Spencer Shannon gained nine yards on a completion before Manning took a big hit on a seven-yard scramble that knocked his helmet off. Rather than taking the starting quarterback out for a play, Sarkisian used his first timeout of the first half instead to allow Manning to return.
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Trying to check the ball down, Manning had his pass knocked down, and Brown only gained a yard on second down, leaving the Horns needing to convert a long third down to continue the drive. It didn’t happen, as Manning tried to hit Bishop down the seam, but misfired under pressure.
UTSA took over at its own 25-yard line on the punt, picking up seven yards on a screen pass, leading to the two-minute timeout. Consecutive penalties backed the Roadrunners up — a block in the back and a holding call — to set up 2nd and 23 and prompt Sarkisian to use his second timeout. As Traylor made his case to the officials about the holding call, a run-pass option throw by McCown pinged around and was nearly intercepted, and a screen pass went for only three yards as Texas used its final timeout with 1:40 remaining and a chance at good field position with the ball on the 15-yard line.
The punt sailed out of bounds near midfield and Manning opened the drive with a scramble for 12 yards before throwing the ball away on first down. Scrambling again, Manning took a big hit on a nine-yard gain and Smothers moved the chains. A throwaway outside of the pocket ticked the clock down to 34 seconds with the ball at the 25-yard line.
Following a timeout by UTSA, Manning scrambled again for eight yards, then made a conservative decision to spike the ball to stop the clock with 18 seconds remaining. Spetic connected from 34 yards to extend the lead to 20-3 at halftime.
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As Texas headed into the locker room, the team joined Wingo, who had left the field early after receiving medical attention on the sideline — he was slow to leave the field after running a deep route late in the half, but warmed up with the team before the second half started.
Third quarter
A touchback got the second half underway as the Longhorns offense tried to find some explosiveness. Instead, a low shotgun snap was fumbled by Manning for a 10-yard loss on the first play. After a one-yard gain by Cooper, Manning drew a penalty for an illegal forward when he thought better of another scramble, which was declined by UTSA to force the punt team onto the field.
A 36-yard punt by senior Mac Chiumento gave the Roadrunners good field position that improved after a face-mask penalty on senior safety Derek Williams.
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McCown opened the drive with a 12-yard completion, but lost the momentum after a three-yard pass, an incompletion, and an illegal substitution penalty set up 3rd and 13. With a defender in his face, McCown threw incomplete and UTSA settled for a 43-yard field goal and a 20-6 deficit.
The kickoff return unit struggled to create any space for Niblett and drew a holding penalty to start its drive with bad field position on its 8-yard line.
Manning narrowly avoided a safety and slid for a one-yard gain, but was able to create some space on second down with a 19-yard completion to Coleman. The sloppy play quickly resumed — a tackle for loss, a shovel pass throwaway, and an incompletion under pressure.
Trying to get its own offense going, UTSA ran a screen pass with a lateral attached to it, but the Roadrunners went three and out after a third-down incompletion.
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Texas got a boost from a personal foul penalty on UTSA after Niblett’s six-yard return near midfield, but the running game couldn’t find its footing on a tackle for loss of Smothers. Working open over the middle, Wingo made a much-needed reception before Coleman nearly made a spinning one-handed catch near the goal line on a fade route. A drop by Shannon with room to run led to a third-down scramble by Manning for a short gain and another field-goal attempt, a miss by Spetic that produced a roughing the kicker penalty.
Brown ran for two yards and Manning couldn’t connect with Coleman on a slant route with a defender draped on the Auburn transfer. Another shoveled pass produced a two-yard gain by Brown and a shorter attempt for Spetic, who hit from 23 yards for a 23-6 lead.
A muffed return didn’t hurt the Roadrunners on an eventual 20-yard gain, but a holding penalty did, and a second-down completion by McCown was only enough to make it 3rd and 13. Opting to run it, the Roadrunners reserved the right to punt without anything negative happening.
Offsetting penalties resulted in another punt and a 14-yard return by Niblett.
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Some juice from Brown led to a seven-yard gain and a first-down conversion from Smothers, but a screen pass to the NC State went for no gain. Manning moved the chains again on a scramble, getting out of bounds after gaining 20 yards to avoid the type of hit he was taking late in the first half. Going back to the screen game, Bishop picked up seven yards, showing some contact courage down the sidelines. After a tackle for loss by UTSA, Manning couldn’t connect with Wingo in the end zone to set up 4th and 4 following an injury timeout for the Roadrunner in coverage, who was cramping.
The Texas offense stayed on the field, but turned the ball over on downs when Manning sailed his pass over Mosley’s out route.
A two-yard run by UTSA ended the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
As the fourth quarter started, Simmons was spotted on the sideline in a boot.
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McCown moved the chains with a completion, but a short pass and a missed pass led to an offensive pass-interference penalty on a mesh route and a more difficult third down as Traylor raged on the sideline. A screen pass picked up 13 yards. The UTSA head coach wasn’t initially in the mood to go for it, but sent the offense out after a timeout, a calculus that changed after a false-start penalty.
The Horns started with the ball on their own 34-yard line after a 39-yard punt.
A positive run by Cooper off tackle gained eight yards to start the drive. An inside run secured a first down before a three-yard gain. The ball moved across midfield after a personal foul penalty for roughing the passer. An 18-yard run by Smothers moved the ball into the red zone on a drive that finished with four runs by Cooper, including his first career touchdown run. With less than nine minutes remaining, the Horns led 30-6.
The penalty issues continued for UTSA with a holding call after securing a fresh set of downs and a punt as the Roadrunners stuck with the run without success, settling instead for keeping the clock moving.
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The 24-point lead ended Manning’s night in favor of sophomore KJ Lacey, who completed his first pass attempt to fifth-year wide receiver Sterling Berkhalter, an eight-yard gain. Following an injury timeout, sophomore running back Michael Terry sent the game into the two-minute timeout with a 13-yard run that featured a broken tackle.
Running hard between the tackles, Terry gained eight yards before having to break a tackle in the backfield before giving way to sophomore James Simon on 3rd and 1 that became 3rd and 6 after a false start. A run by Simon for no gain was the final play of the game.
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