Manning accounts for 5 TDs, Longhorns roll to 38-7 win over San Jose State

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It wasn’t the prettiest home-opening win, but No. 7 Texas got the job Saturday with a 38-7 victory over San Jose State at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Arch Manning threw four touchdowns, all in the first half, and ran for another. He finished the game 19-for-30 with 295 passing yards and an interception, plus 23 rushing yards on four carries. He added a 20-yard scramble for a score with 0:43 left in the third quarter.

“All in all, it’s good to get a win at home,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We have a lot of things to clean up, and this is not the best version of Texas Football that we’re going to see this season.”

Backup Matthew Caldwell came in the game with 6:00 left to finish it out.

Manning threw a pair of scoring passes to both Parker Livingstone and Jack Endries, hitting Livingstone for an 84-yard explosive play in the first quarter after a bit of a slow start. That provided a jolt to the offense, taking a 28-7 halftime lead.

Texas moved the ball 22 yards in its first two drives of the game, but then scored on four consecutive drives.

Livingstone caught four passes for 128 yards, while both of Endries’ catches went for touchdowns and 52 yards. CJ Baxter paced the Texas backfield with 64 yards on 13 carries.

Sarkisian said earlier in the week that he challenged his defense to force turnovers against the Spartans, and the unit delivered. Texas forced three fumbles, recovering all of them, and Jaylon Guilbeau added an interception. The Longhorns cashed the four takeaways for 21 points after not generating a single turnover last week against Ohio State.

“We talked all week about that, and we attacked the football in the first half,” he said. “A lot of different people were in on that, and we were able to get what we emphasized.”

Anthony Hill forced two fumbles, and Ty’Anthony Smith forced the other.

A big blemish on Texas’ performance was penalties. The Longhorns committed 12 fouls, totalling 115 yards, wiping out several explosive plays along the way. For obvious reasons, Sarkisian wasn’t pleased with the miscues.

“It looks like my foot will have to get in their butts on Monday,” he said.

Texas also wasn’t great on third down, converting just 2 of 12 attempts. They were, however, good in the red zone with three touchdowns in four possessions inside the Spartans’ 20-yard line.

Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons and wide receiver DeAndre Moore both left the game early with injuries. Simmons walked off the field with what appeared to be a shoulder or upper body injury, and Moore limped off the field with help from a teammate.

For San Jose State, quarterback Walker Egat completed 21 of 42 passes for 188 yards. Wide receiver Kyri Shoels had eight catches for 73 yards. Jabari Bates, who scored the Spartans’ lone touchdown on a 4-yard run in the second quarter, ran for 44 yards on 10 carries.

Texas outgained the Spartans 472-273 and averaged 7.8 yards per play.

The Longhorns (1-1) face UTEP at 3:15 p.m., Sept. 13 in Austin. San Jose State (0-2) is idle next week and then faces Idaho on Sept. 20.

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