It’s September. It’s hot as hell. And football. Is. BACK.
Happy as hell to be back for my *checks notes* SEVENTH year (WUT) of talking about and writing about Texas football here at Burnt Orange Nation. Excited to bring back my weekly Sunday column recapping and reviewing Longhorn football. This column has become a labor of love and I enjoy pouring my thoughts down on paper or a computer screen and discussing the ups and downs of the seasons for the readers.
If this is your first time reading I would
like to say welcome! And if you’re a returning reader I would like to say welcome back to 2026’s iteration of the Sunday column.
On Saturday, the Longhorns welcomed GJ Kinne’s Texas State Bobcats into Austin and they were less than hospitable hosts to their guests. The No. 5 Texas Longhorns allowed maybe a flicker of hope for the Bobcats on the day and then proceeded to extinguish it in impressive fashion. The win was never in doubt and surprisingly the cover (-29.5) was never in doubt.
Coming into this one I felt like the Texas State offense and it’s ability to score would make that cover more interesting and I could not have been more wrong. The Longhorns came into this game focused and locked in and it showed in the box score when triple zeroes hit the clock at this end of this matchup.
Alright, that’s enough rifting through intro. Lets get into the ball talk and crack the seal on the 2026 season with some observations and takeaways.
Arch opens the season with a solid B+ performance
It’s a B+ because I am a tough grader and even though he threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, he still has some things to clean up going into the big tilt against the Buckeyes next week. Finishing 20-of-27 passing for 305 yards with four touchdowns to one interception will win Texas plenty of games, but it was the mistakes like the late-half interception and the self sack that will get him in trouble down the road.
You are in the red zone looking to tack on before the half — ball security is at a premium here. Texas got the ball coming out of half, so imagine if they are able to grab points here instead of coming away with nothing. Arch most certainly redeemed himself after this play, but like I said, when you are looking at the entire body of work of the game this was an unforced error that didn’t need to happen.
What I did love was that Arch spread the love around when targeting receivers. Eleven different Longhorns logged a reception on Saturday and Manning dished out passes to the majority of them. He showed off the pocket presence, the ability to extend plays, and he often took what the defense gave him as he was not shy about checking it down to his tight ends or running backs. That’s the type of stuff that will keep his sheet clean of turnovers and will lead to him producing winning football performances this year.
Great opening act on Saturday. But he needs a big redemption performance against Ohio State next week after struggling in the season opener last year in Columbus.
Bend-but-don’t-break defense
The Bobcat offense versus Will Muschamp’s defense was something I was paying close attention to in this matchup. Brad Jackson and the Texas State offense were the primary reason for concern for why I thought Texas might struggle to cover the large spread. Jackson threw for over 3,000 yards last year and also ran for 17 touchdowns, so they are no strangers to being able to put up points and rack up yards.
To Jackson’s credit, the Bobcats were very good on third down conversions on Saturday (8/14) and produced 18 first downs. He looked calm and very much like a veteran college quarterback despite there being plenty of artillery and live rounds being sent at him on Saturday. GJ Kinne’s attack produced 349 yards of total offense against the Texas defense, but only notched seven points as Jackson went 15-of-23 passing for 150 yards and an interception. The Bobcats showed the ability to move the football down the field, but they ultimately turned the ball over five different times (three via forced turnovers, two on downs).
If you’re looking for a defensive standout, look no further than Pitt transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles, an absolute banshee for the Panthers last year who he produced two turnovers by himself on Saturday, including a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown by nickel back Graceson Littleton.
That is the Peanut Punchs that was made famous by longtime Chicago Bears defensive back Charles “Peanut” Tillman. Biles was credited with five tackles (two solo), a half tackle for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble. One game in it looks like the hype around the standout defender is warranted.
The Texas defense as a whole did plenty to win the game, but they will need to be more stubborn against the run and do a better job of getting off the field on third downs. Texas State receivers were finding open holes in the zone in the middle of the field and they conceded more than should against the run at times. The strength of opponent is only going to get tougher from here on out. Plenty of to coach up heading into next week.
The Cam Coleman/Ryan Wingo combo is going to feed families
Money well spent, brothers and sisters. It certainly wasn’t cheap to pull Wingo from Missouri, and we know it wasn’t cheap to get Coleman out of the portal, but this is exactly why you open the checkbook.
We’ve been waiting all offseason to see this wide receiver duo in action and we were not disappointed in the first stanza of 2026. Coleman and Wingo are going to stress defenses in some unimaginable ways and I don’t envy defensive coordinators who have to prepare for them.
There are a lot of mouths to feed on this offense, but it didn’t take long for Sark to get his two star receivers touches and into the end zone. A couple years ago we saw what the Texas offense looked like when it had two elite receivers in Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Could we be looking at an even better version this time around? Only time will tell.
The Texas run game is still a work in progress
It took about five seconds for Hollywood Smothers to show why he got the RB1 nod in Week One. I say this not trying to be disrespectful of anyone from the 2025 Texas running back room, but, respectfully, there wasn’t a guy in that room who could have made that kind of run last year. Smothers showed immediately that he was a plus addition to this roster and showed what kind of juice he can provide to the Texas backfield both as a runner and a pass catcher.
Raleek Brown chipped in with a couple of touchdowns of his own. Brown and Smothers combined for 104 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, with Smothers adding a receiving touchdown.
That’s about where my praise ends as far as the running game is concerned. I’d have to see the end zone view to have a better feel for how things were looking, but after a quick start the run game sputtered for a very long stretches and the Texas offensive line was not able to consistently impose their will against the Texas State defensive front. With the Buckeyes coming into town and a full SEC slate on the horizon, that will need to get fixed in a hurry.
The one caveat about what I saw today with the run game was that Texas was not using Arch’s wheels at all today for obvious reasons, so that is a wrinkle we will most certainly see as the season wears on. With that said, you need to be able to consistently push the Texas States of the world around when you got guys like Smothers and Brown running behind you.
Kobe Black understands No Thud No Play
Because that young man is PLAYING! Black getting the starting nod over Derek Williams was a surprise for some, but there has been buzz about him leading up to the season after making the switch from corner to safety.
Will Muschamp says if you want to get on the field for him then you better be willing to trade some paint, and that is exactly what Black did on Saturday.
That one made me sit upright in a hurry! And what made me even happier is that not one ref reached for their flag and there wasn’t even a threat of a review. This was a clean football hit and I’m glad the refs didn’t get trigger happy because football was played violenty.
That’s how you separate the receiver from the football. That’s how you make guys hear footsteps when they have to go over the middle. LOVE IT!
That lick alone is going to get Black more run moving forward. I have nothing against Derek Williams, but I need to see more of KB6 after this highlight-reel hit.
1-0.
Good, dominant first win. But now it is time to flush it and move on. The 24-hour rule is officially in effect. Watch the film, make corrections, then put it behind you. The Buckeyes are coming to town and the Longhorns owe them one.
