ULM vs. Texas: Longhorns blow out Warhawks 51-3 in Arch Manning's 1st start

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Arch Manning's first career start for the Texas Longhorns wasn't perfect, but it didn't have to be.

The No. 1 Longhorns pummeled Louisiana-Monroe 51-3 Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium to move to 4-0 ahead of the Southeastern Conference opener next week against Mississippi State. Texas held the Warhawks to minus-2 yards of offense in the third quarter and outgained them 493-111 in front of 102,850 fans.

"It wasn't super clean, but nowhere in there did I feel like our guys got rattled," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We showed really good composure. We stayed committed to what we needed to do."

Manning finished the game 15 of 29 passing for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions filling in for the injured Quinn Ewers. He connected with running back Jaydon Blue for a 3-yard score and Ryan Wingo for a 17-yard touchdown. Blue had a terrific game coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of the UTSA game last week. He rushed for 124 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns along with his receiving score.

Manning got the bulk of his yardage on chunk plays, connecting with Isaiah Bond on a 56-yard play in the first quarter and a 46-yard toss to Matthew Golden in the second. Manning completed eight passes of at least 15 yards, including two big gains of 25 and 17 yards to Wingo.

"We felt like we had to be aggressive down the field with the game plan, and he took his shots," Sarkisian said of Manning. "To be fair to him, I probably should have found some other shorter completions for him because I want that percentage to be a little higher. He learned some lessons and no one thought he would be perfect. That's what tonight was about."

Liona Lefau led the Longhorns defensively with six tackles with a sack. Texas held Warhawks starting quarterback General Booty to 42 yards on 8 of 19 passing. Anthony Hill had an interception. Texas tackled Ozarrio Smith in the end zone for a safety in the third quarter.

Louisiana-Monroe's only score came after a 13-play, 58-yard drive with a 35-yard field goal by Max Larson in the second quarter. The Warhawks had a chance to add another field goal at the end of the first half, but the snap was bad and Larson's kick was blocked. That was the only drive of more than 17 yards for the Warhawks.

Warhawks backup quarterback Aiden Armenta threw an interception on a flea flicker with 1:49 left in the game. Jay'Vion Cole ran underneath Armenta's deep pass and returned it 11 yards to punctuate the dominant performance by the Longhorns.

"We continued to play for four quarters, and I was encouraged by that," Sarkisian said. "We have to stay the course. We don't need to do anything different, but we have to trust our process. We have a formula for success and the players understand that when we do it right, we perform at a high level."

All indications point to Ewers being back on the field for the SEC opener next week, but getting Manning a start under his belt in a situation not as pressure-packed was exactly what Sarkisian had in mind.

"Arch has grown a ton, and that takes a lot of maturity to get it done. He has a good guy to watch in Quinn," Sarkisian said. "Interceptions happen, that's just the life of being a quarterback. He did a good job tonight and I was proud of him."