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5 Immediate Takeaways From Texas Longhorns' Sloppy Win Over UTSA

The Texas Longhorns took care of business against UTSA but it certainly wasn't pretty.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) hits UTSA Roadrunners running back Will Henderson III (1) for a tackle during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) hits UTSA Roadrunners running back Will Henderson III (1) for a tackle during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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The Texas Longhorns have officially wrapped up non-conference play after moving up to the No. 1 spot in the Top 25 rankings.

Texas took care of business against UTSA in Austin on Saturday night, securing a 30-6 win to move to 3-0 this season.

It certainly wasn't as pretty or memorable as the Longhorns' comeback win over Ohio State but Texas got the job done as SEC play now begins.

Here are some of the most notable takeaways from the win:

Offensive Consistency Need to Be Better as SEC Play Begins

Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown
Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown (0) runs for yards while being tackled by UTSA Roadrunners cornerback Zach Morris (20) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns struggled at time on offense against a stingy UTSA defense, something that will need

To put things simply, the Texas offense didn't look like one that belongs to the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

Arch Manning had one too many missed throws and was inefficient on the night, finishing 17 of 33 passing for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Texas fans will be pleased with no interceptions, but Manning didn't exactly have his best night.

Included in these issues is the lack of consistency Texas got from the running game in the first half. Derrek Cooper and Michael Terry III made up for this in the second half but things will need to improve against Tennessee.

"I just felt like offensively we started off in a pretty good groove, and then it was just kind of a choppy game," Sarkisian said. " ... The flow of the game just could never really get going for us offensively."

Cam Coleman Bounces Back

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Cam Coleman
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) celebrates with wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) and teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the UTSA Roadrunners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a somewhat quiet night against Ohio State that featured a dropped pass leading to an interception, Coleman had four catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns against UTSA.

He's yet to have that big-time game with tons of yardage but Coleman now has four touchdowns in his first three games with Texas.

It's only a matter of time until he truly has that star-studded breakout game.

Arch Manning Took Way Too Many Hits

Arch Manning will need to hit the ice bath after this one.

In the first half, he was on the run far too often after escaping the pocket. This led to multiple hard hits, including where his helmet came flying off.

Manning finished with nine carries for 50 yards, both season-high marks three games into the year.

Texas Defense Did Its Job

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald
Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) reacts after tackling UTSA Roadrunners running back Will Henderson III (1) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The first thing Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said during his postgame press conference was praise for the defense.

That says it all.

"I felt like our defense, first of all, had a phenomenal game. And talk about answering the bell. We talked about being intentional, trying to go get the ball, first play of the game, Rasheem Biles interception," Sarkisian said.

Way Too Many Penalties

After having just two penalties in the win over Ohio State, the Longhorns finished with eight penalties for 88 yards.

Perhaps it was a flag-happy crew, but the Longhorns certainly need to clean up the penalty issues headed into Knoxville.

If they can't, it will bite them unlike it did against UTSA.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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