With all of the offseason hype and hullabaloo, it was nice to have actual football to talk about, and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns put a solid product on the field to kick off the season. Texas turned in a lopsided victory over the Texas State Bobcats and came away with a relatively clean bill of health and a few key focus areas to improve on before they welcome No. 1 Ohio State to the Forty Acres.
3rd Down Conversions: 73.3% (11-15)
Starting with the good, the Longhorns looked like a new team on the money down – improving on one of the biggest
nagging issues of the Steve Sarkisian era. Texas posted its highest 3rd-down conversion percentage since Sark took over, going over 70% for the first time since the 2021 season. The Longhorns gained an average of 12.6 yards on 3rd Downs, and quarterback Arch Manning was 7-8 for 98 yards and three touchdowns on the money down.
Part of their success was putting themselves in favorable down and distance, going 5-5 on attempts shorter than five yards. Texas set itself up for success with its performance on early downs, averaging 5.9 yards per play on first down and 4.6 yards per rush.
Arch Manning: 20-27, 305 yards, 4TD, INT
Arch Manning took a while to get going last year but seemed to pick up where he left off at the end of last season. He distributed the ball well, connecting with seven different receivers at multiple layers of the field. One of his biggest growth areas from last season was on short and intermediate passes, going 8-10 for 107 yards on routes between one and 14 yards against Texas State – doing all of that without having to keep defenses honest with his legs.
Part of his success was the play of the offensive line, keeping him safe and comfortable in the pocket all afternoon. Manning was sacked just once and had no other hurries in the contest, which feels like a rare treat after last year’s line play. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning was pressured on just 13.3% of his dropbacks against Texas State. Texas didn’t have a game below 19% throughout the entire 2025 campaign.
Texas Rushing: 36 carries, 156 yards, 3 TD
When Hollywood Smothers started the game for Texas with a 45-yard rush, it felt like Texas found its answer in the ground game. And while the run game showed what it can be at its best, there is some cause for concern about Texas State’s ability to hold the ground game down when they chose to sell out against the run.
Texas was stuffed on 10 of their 36 rushing attempts on the day, up from their average of 22% from a year ago, and achieved just 2.5 line yards per rush in the contest. However, Texas managed to get the tough yards on the ground when they needed to, converting four of their five rushing attempts when they needed to gain two or fewer yards and all three of their called third-down runs.
Now, the Longhorns have a week to prepare for an opportunity to get their get-back against the team that did a lot to set the conversation and narrative around Texas last year. The Buckeys visit Austin coming off of a lopsided victory of their own, a 56-3 win over the Ball State Cardinals to open their season.
