AUSTIN – Top-ranked Texas took care of business and cruised past UTSA 30-6 Saturday night at Royal-Memorial Stadium in a nondescript final tuneup for the Longhorns before starting SEC play next weekend.
Arch Manning connected with Cam Coleman for two first-half touchdowns, and the Longhorns’ defense manhandled the Roadrunners, holding them to 70 yards of offense in the first half and 100 through three quarters.
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Gianni Spetic kicked two field goals, including one from 52 yards, but missed from 36 yards on a play on which he was roughed.
Manning had a rugged night, roughed up by the Roadrunners’ defense and off target for much of the game. After he got sandwiched between defenders Darion White and Eddy Smith and had his helmet knocked off, the senior quarterback missed his next five pass attempts. He connected only half of his throws, completing 17 of 33 for 164 yards. He was just 5 of 12 for 45 yards in the second half.
True freshman Derrek Cooper bulled his way in from the 1 for his first touchdown as a Longhorn. His score capped a 66-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to put this win on wraps.
Overall, it was anything but a crisp, impressive showing by Texas (3-0), which struggled to put the American Athletic Conference contender away. UTSA almost had as many penalty yards (115) as offensive yards (142), getting flagged 12 times in the game.
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Texas’ start to the game was an, uh, slight improvement over last week’s game against Ohio State when it committed two turnovers on its first five plays. On Saturday, the Longhorns scored a touchdown on its fourth play of the game.
Manning threw a 24-yard touchdown to Coleman on a post route after linebacker Rasheem Biles intercepted UTSA’s Owen McCown on the game’s first play. It was the first of two scores by Coleman, who teamed up with Manning on a great 3-yard corner route to go up 17-3.
In so doing, Texas scored on six straight possessions, dating back to the last three series of the Ohio State game and the first three Saturday.
The Longhorns left some points on the board in the first half, and Manning took several big hits in collisions with the UTSA defense. Texas harassed McCown all night, limiting him to 18 yards passing in the first two quarters.
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Texas will leave DKR next Saturday for the first time this year and travel to Tennessee to play the Volunteers to open SEC action.
This is a developing story and will be updated
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This article originally published at No. 1 Texas cruises past UTSA in final tuneup before beginning SEC play.
