Steve Sarkisian Compares UTEP Game to Past Ugly Win

The Texas Longhorns defeated the UTEP Miners on Saturday to improve to 2-1 on the season, and that's where the positives from the game end.

After being favored by more than 40 points, the Longhorns' offense floundered en route to an ugly 27-10 win. Arch Manning, who was among the Heisman Trophy favorites heading into the season, had an absolutely miserable game, completing just 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards with one touchdown and one interception (though he at least had two rushing touchdowns). For a team with one of the most talented offenses in the country on paper, out-gaining UTEP, a team with one winning season in the past decade, by fewer than 100 yards is simply embarrassing.

However, it's not the first time the Longhorns have won a game in this fashion, and not even the first time in the past few years.

Texas Longhorns' Ugly UTEP Win Echoes 2023 Wyoming Game

Sep 16, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks (24) runs for yardage during the second half against the Wyoming Cowboys at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

In 2023, the Longhorns welcomed the Wyoming Cowboys to Darrell K Royal, and won by a score of just 31-10 in an ugly game. Like Manning on Saturday, Quinn Ewers struggled to throw the ball as he completed just 11 of 21 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Jonathon Brooks was the main source of offense, rushing for 164 yards and averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Sarkisian even compared Saturday's game to this one after the fact.

"This reminds me a lot of the Wyoming game here a couple years ago, where the passing game kind of struggled," Sarkisian told reporters. "We kind of leaned into the run game with Jonathan Brooks that night, and I think we hit kind of a quick screen to Xavier [Worthy] for a touchdown, and that we really didn't do much that night in the passing game, and there was a real level of frustration. But we righted the ship that season as well, and we'll right the ship now."

The difference is that for that game, the Longhorns were riding high fresh off a 34-24 road win over Alabama, which ultimately became the main point on their College Football Playoff resume. This time, they only have a loss to Ohio State in Week 1 and a win over San Jose State in Week 2, so they don't have anything to fall back on yet.

Hopefully Sarkisian is right about the Longhorns being able to rebound, because if they can't it might be a very disappointing season in Austin.