The No. 13 Texas Longhorns took a while to get rolling, but a close game turned into a comfortable win after a huge fourth quarter from the defense, including two fourth quarter interceptions of Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood. Texas managed to put the offense into gear in the fourth quarter, mostly thanks to the efforts of the other star quarterback in the game, Texas’s Arch Manning.
Arch Manning has all the tools he needs to be successful
It’s hard to call this a coming out party for a player
that is already a household name, but the former No. 1 player in the country truly looked up to the billing against Michigan and put up what could be the jumping off point for a stellar junior year. His 376-yard performance was capped off by Texas’s two longest offensive plays of the game, a 30-yard bomb to Kaliq Lockett and a 60-yard designed run coming off of an Underwood turnover, extending the lead to two scores.
Manning accounted for six of the Longhorns’ runs longer than 10 yards and 130 of his 221 passing yards came on passes longer than 15 plays. He still needs to grow on completing deep balls, connecting on just 3-7 passes longer than 15 yards, but his wide receivers did him little help in that regard.
The offense needs help at the skill positions
Just one credited drop, but anyone watching the game saw the ball careen off of wide receivers’ hands on multiple catchable balls. Parker Livingstone and Ryan Wingo, who left the game early due to injury, both had multiple drops in crucial moments, while while up-and-comers like Daylan McCutcheon saw good passes bounce off of their hands and land on the turf. Kaliq Lockett hauled in the first touchdown of his career off of a dime from a hobbled Manning, but Texas still needs a lot of help.
With both RB1 and RB2 out, Christian Clark did well carrying the ball for Texas, averaging XX per carry on the way to his first 100-yard game. After Clark, though, Michael Terry, III came off of the bench and chipped in just X carries for x yards, leaving Manning to be the other running back for the offense.
The special teams unit needs to improve next year
Jeff Banks’s unit was abhorrent in the game, setting up the Michigan offense in positive field position multiple times, especially after the Longhorns scored a touchdown — exposing how much Texas benefits when a kicker can put the ball deep in the end zone. Andrew Marsh averaged 36 yards per return, a clip that included a 51-yard return in the third quarter that put Michigan deep in Texas territory late in the third quarter. Thankfully, Wardell Mack picked off Bryce Underwood in the end zone to end the threat.
Add to that a block in the back penalty on a punt return that backed Texas into its own territory in the second quarter, the Longhorns’ special teams unit once again had a mental lapse that cost the offense.
