Texas football fans should have national title dreams after dominating Michigan at home
Bring on No. 1 Georgia and whatever the SEC can muster. The Texas Longhorns are ready for anything.
Go ahead, Texas Longhorns fans. Dream big. Launch your national championship aspirations. Start saving for postseason travel. It’s time, and frankly, coach Steve Sarkisian would probably approve.
No. 3 Texas launched itself into the national title conversation with a dominating 31-12 victory over No. 10 Michigan on the Wolverines’ own turf inside the Big House.
When these two teams met last time at the 2005 Rose Bowl, quarterback Vince Young proudly declared “We’ll be back!” This matchup, just the second in school history between the historic programs, was the equivalent of putting down a burnt-orange marker.
Texas (2-0) is here, ready for No. 1 Georgia and whatever the SEC can muster up. It just means more, allegedly. More excitement in Austin, for sure. And yes, Sarkisian is more than happy to be the SEC's new villain.
Plenty of people saw it, too. The announced attendance Saturday was 111,170, making it the largest crowd ever to see a Texas football game in person.
Through two games, Texas has allowed only one touchdown, and that came in garbage time Saturday with 1:54 remaining. UT won 52-0 last week in the opener against Colorado State.
It’s worth remembering how far Texas has come under Sarkisian. In the coach’s first season in 2021, Texas was a 31-point favorite at home against lowly Kansas. The Jayhawks had never won a game against Texas in Austin in the series' history, entering Saturday 0-9 in those games.
The Longhorns lost 57-56 in overtime. Yes, to the Jayhawks. It was the largest point spread ever upset in Big 12 history.
This week, the Horns were 6.5-point favorites on the road against the defending national champions. They left with almost 400 total yards and went 10-for-15 on third down and created three turnovers.
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Proud parent Cooper Manning, who doubles as Arch’s father, joined the Fox pre-game show as Texas Longhorns fans started filling into Michigan Stadium ready for the 11 a.m. showdown. Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers’ backup, passed and ran for his first two touchdowns at Texas last week in a 52-0 win over Colorado State. It’s not […]
First-half domination by Texas
The first half was complete burnt-orange domination. UT’s only problems were of its own making.
Texas kicker Bert Auburn missed a field goal on UT’s first drive, one beset by three penalties on right tackle Cam Williams. His holding penalty even wiped out a 24-yard touchdown catch by DeAndre Moore. But the Horns got all that straightened out and scored 24 points on its next four drives before the break.
Michigan had just three points, turned it over twice and was on the wrong end of the 279-88 edge in total yards. The Horns were 8-for-10 on third down while the Wolverines were 1-for-5.
The only nail-biting moment came when running back Jaydon Blue hopped off the field on one leg and disappeared into the medical tent. But he emerged and went back into the lineup before halftime.
Halftime observations about Jaydon Blue’s injury as Texas football holds 24-3 lead over Michigan
Longhorns moving the ball well and could have been up more if not for penalties
Second half was more of the same
Michigan wanted to chew up yards and probably whittle down the clock in the second half. The Wolverines’ offense simply isn’t built to hold serve in a shootout.
Quarterback Davis Warren handed it off and saw a ball dropped on third-and-4. On its second drive of the second half, Michigan finally got on the board by chewing up yardage. Still, UT’s Anthony Hill Jr. stopped Alex Orji cold on a zone-read handoff from the Texas 33-yard line. The Wolverines had to settle for a 52-yard field goal.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jaydon Blue, who stepped just inside the pylon as Texas had 31-6 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Longhorns got to break out their turnover sword Texcalibur, having snagged three turnovers against the Wolverines.
When Texas defensive end Barryn Sorrell pressured U-M quarterback Davis Warren into a fourth-down incompletion, the Horns took over with 8:25 remaining and leading by 25.
For Michigan, the hapless ending summed up the entire day.
So now what for Texas? Next comes a three-game home stand where Texas will be favored, games against UTSA (Sept. 14), Louisiana-Monroe (Sept. 21) and the SEC opener against Mississippi State (Sept. 28).
The Longhorns haven't been in this type of position in years. How they handle success is the theme going forward.
