Texas played its 1st showcase game as an SEC team on Saturday afternoon, and the 3rd-ranked Longhorns were doing it on just about the grandest stage possible — at the Big House, in FOX’s Big Noon slot and against a Michigan team that just happens to be the defending national champion.

Consider the opening 30 minutes a smashing success.

Texas freshman running back Jerrick Gibson finished a 12-play, 76-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown scamper, giving the Longhorns a 14-3 lead with 8:24 left in the 2nd quarter. The bruising drive featured a variety of runs and Quinn Ewers passes, but it was Gibson who finished it off, running for 11 yards 2 plays before the touchdown to set up Texas with 1st-and-goal at the Wolverines 9-yard line.

Gibson added a 2-yard run on 1st-and-goal before rumbling into the end zone.

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Then things got even worse for 10th-ranked Michigan, as Davis Warren was intercepted on the 3rd play of the Wolverines’ next drive, setting up the Longhorns at the Michigan 37-yard line. Texas couldn’t punch it in the end zone again, but the Longhorns added a 26-yard field goal by Bert Auburn to increase their lead to 17-3 with 2:40 left in a dominating 1st half.

At that point, Texas had amassed 237 total yards and was 7-of-9 in 3rd-down conversions, breaking the Michigan defense’s back time and time again with those 3rd-down conversions to keep the momentum on its side.

The Longhorns weren’t done yet though. After a Michigan fumble gave Texas another short field, Ewers hooked up with Matthew Golden for a 5-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left in the 2nd quarter to take a commanding 24-3 lead into the locker room.