The defense played lights out, but the offense left Texas fans feeling anxious on Saturday.
The seventh-ranked Longhorns defeated UTEP, 27-10, to move to 2-1 on the young season. Texas controlled the clock, constantly played in the UTEP backfield, and outgained the Miners, but quarterback Arch Manning struggled throughout the game.
It was a tale of two sides for the Longhorns. Texas didn’t give up an offensive touchdown through the first 3 quarters. UTEP didn’t find the endzone until its final possession of the game — when the result had long been decided. Through the first 3 quarters, UTEP had 141 yards of total offense at 3.4 yards per play. The ground game produced nothing all day. Adjusted for sacks, Texas allowed just 56 rushing yards at 2.7 a carry.
Jelani McDonald and Zina Umeozulu both picked off UTEP quarterback Malachi Nelson. Texas also got fourth-down stops to end 3 other drives and forced 3 more 3-and-outs.
On the other side, Manning endured a miserable first half. Manning threw 9 consecutive incompletions at one point. He was fortunate to get away with what would have been his second interception of the first half late in the second quarter, but he was heavily booed by the home crowd as the drive ended.
Manning ended the day 11-for-25 for 114 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He ran 9 times for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns. But the Texas offense averaged just 4.2 yards per play for the game. UTEP was actually slightly more efficient.
The Longhorns have 1 more tune-up game before SEC play begins. Texas hosts Sam Houston next Saturday. It travels to Florida on Oct. 4.
Texas 27, UTEP 10
Here’s the Texas-UTEP box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Arch Manning vs Malachi Nelson
A statistical breakdown of how Texas’ Heisman hopeful QB Arch Manning played compared to UTEP quarterback Malachi Nelson:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
