OTF Premium Thoughts on No. 7 Texas' surprisingly sloppy 38-7 win over San Jose State

[Jeff Howe]

Seventh-ranked Texas opened the 2025 home schedule by checking a lot of boxes in Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State.

Arch Manning threw for 295 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing), quarterbacking an offense that racked up 472 yards (7.3 yards per play). Parker Livingstone recorded the first 100-yard game of his young career (128 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions) and CJ Baxter Jr. (13 carries for 64 yards) paced the running game, which averaged 5.2 sack-adjusted yards per attempt (162 yards gained on 31 non-sack rushing attempts).

Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense forced four turnovers (two fumbles forced by Anthony Hill Jr., one forced by Ty’Anthony Smith and an interception by Jaylon Guilbeau), which the offense turned into 21 points. The Longhorns limited the Spartans to a combined 4-for-17 effort on third and fourth down (4-for-15 on third down) and held them under 100 yards on the ground (85 total, 2.9 yards per attempt).

With that said, the undisciplined, sloppy nature that clouded the 31-point margin of victory is best summarized by how the offense bookended the game.

DeAndre Moore Jr.’s 28-yard gain on a flip pass from Manning on the first play from scrimmage was negated because of a holding penalty. Jerrick Gibson fumbled at the end of a 6-yard gain in the closing seconds of the game, marking the offense’s second turnover near the red zone.

The toughest opponent Texas faced on Saturday was itself, and the Longhorns couldn’t get out of their way for long stretches of the game.

— There’s no way to sugarcoat 12 penalties for 115 yards. 

Whether the infractions were committed before or after the snap, Texas has proven itself to be a sloppy, undisciplined team eight quarters into the season. The Longhorns wanted to put a cleaner product on the field than what it showed against Ohio State, but the mission wasn’t accomplished on Saturday.

— Along with penalties, Texas must be better situationally.

Manning’s most egregious mistake of the game was trying to throw a ball away late in the first half, which was intercepted near the goal line. While Gibson’s fumble didn’t count as a turnover in the red zone, the Longhorns have scored three touchdowns on six red-zone possessions through two games.

Texas is now 7-for-26 on third down on the season. The offense was 2-for-12 on third down (average to-go distance of 9.7 yards), including 0-for-6 on third-and-9 or longer.

Manning’s interception, a situation in which he’ll hopefully take the sack and live to fight another down in the future, came with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. For the second time in as many games, the Longhorns failed to get points in a two-minute situation with the opponent set to receive the second-half kickoff.

— I usually don’t mind the aggressiveness to come after a punt, but in a scoreless game, and with an offense in desperate need of confidence, the 15-yard penalty Texas was assessed for roughing the punter brought the defense back on the field instead of the offense opening its third possession on the plus side of the field.

— Manning (19-for-30 throwing the football) had moments where he played with confidence, stood his ground in the pocket and delivered the ball where it needed to go. The redshirt sophomore was by no means perfect, but the chemistry he’s building with Livingstone and Jack Endries (52 yards and a touchdown on two receptions) can go a long way toward laying the 2025 passing game's foundation.

— Moore, who left the game with an undisclosed injury, and Ryan Wingo combined to catch eight balls for 60 yards on 12 targets. While Moore’s longest gain of the day was wiped out due to a penalty and Wingo dropped what could’ve been a long third-down conversion on a ball Manning put on the money, the attention Wingo drew on a post/corner combination route and Moore’s motion near the goal line opened windows on Livingstone’s two touchdown receptions.

— San Jose State’s tight defensive alignment made it tougher for Texas to run the ball than it should’ve been against a defense that was gashed on the ground by Central Michigan (236 yards allowed).

Still, it seemed like the Longhorn offensive line lacked a sense of urgency in the running game, and the Spartans won their share of one-on-one battles, which resulted in four tackles for loss and more pressure on Manning (six hurries) than expected. Saturday’s performance by the offensive line didn’t measure up to the effort in Columbus.

— After two games, the identity of the offense remains a mystery.

Going into the season, there was expected to be a shift away from the quick-game-heavy offense Quinn Ewers operated. The short game was largely a non-factor on Saturday, the intermediate game has been erratic and the offense hasn’t connected on enough vertical shots to lean on the deep ball.

The passing game is more of a work in progress than I expected it to be, even this early.

— For the most part, the defense seemed willing to let San Jose State run the football and connect on short passes.

Kwiatkowski’s plan to rely on a light box to defend the run while trying to limit yards after the catch got the job done. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t expect Texas to be as bland as it was on Saturday against the better offenses it’ll face in the SEC.

— Whether the Longhorns' miscues can be chalked up to growing pains or not, the most frustrating aspect regarding the seemingly endless series of self-inflicted wounds is what the on-field product looked like when Texas had everything clicking.

The Longhorns scored 28 points between the 4:10 mark of the first quarter and when there was 12:56 left on the clock in the second quarter, 21 of which came off turnovers. Unfortunately, the time surrounding the 7:14 blitzkrieg was riddled with mistakes that Texas must eliminate to be the type of team it wants to be by season’s end.

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[Joe Zura]

Great stuff Jefe 🤘🤘🏼

[MarkInAustin]

That is what we saw.

[davidhume]

Well done Jeff. I’m so glad you’re here.

[G3rberger]

What’s the word on Simmons and Moore? 

[OG Longhorn]

Still a work in progress. Hopefully they’ll work out the kinks over the next two weeks.  

[CHorn427]

I despise roughing the punter calls on 4th down. I think I might even hate them more than true turnovers. 

[Jarveaux]

I don’t believe our offense remains a mystery Jeff. That seems a little harsh . I would prefer to say we are a work in progress & shown improvement in the second game . keep improving next two games we will be fine . 

[texcoyote15]

On Coffee and Football yesterday it was mentioned by Bryan Erwin that he wants to see some of these running backs run like that butt was on fire. I still don’t see any of them run like that. Some of it is running out of the shotgun formation, it is so slow developing. Slow getting started and sometimes the hole has closed before they get going. Today they got a few yards but we should have been able to run at will on San Jose State. They run nearly every thing between the tackles. I’d like to see a toss sweep to try to stretch it outside. Our running backs juke and jive trying to find a few yards. It’s too slow developing. Today wasn’t what he meant running like your butt is on fire.

[Assistant Regional Manager]

If I’m not mistaken, Texas was playing with 5 man boxes at times.

Zero respect or concern with SJSU’s running game. All about stopping the pass.

[Jeff Howe]

53 minutes ago, G3rberger said:

What’s the word on Simmons and Moore? 

Simmons appears to be fine. At least there was no mention of him from Sark as far as an injury goes.

Sark didn't confirm anything on Moore, other than he got dinged and they held him out.

[Califashorn75]

Wingo needs to catch the balls that hit him in the hands. He gives up too easily. Receivers have to fight for the catch but the easy ones are just that. 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

1 minute ago, Califashorn75 said:

Wingo needs to catch the balls that hit him in the hands. He gives up too easily. Receivers have to fight for the catch but the easy ones are just that. 

Like that SJSU WR fought off Gilbeau to prevent him from intercepting the pass I agree

[horns96]

Anyone know how many roughing/ running into the punter penalties we’ve had compared to actual blocked punts over the past few years?

[HudGar1922]

maybe just maybe we stop throwing behind the line of scrimmage screens in first down

[tsip92]

8 minutes ago, HudGar1922 said:

maybe just maybe we stop throwing behind the line of scrimmage screens in first down

Having Arch turn his back to the LOS and then have him throw an inside screen is nuts.  He has no chance to see if a defender is there before he has to decide whether to throw the ball or not.  Just terrible play design.  Sark did it with Quinn to with similar issues. 

[AusMOJO]

That was a very disappointing and unimpressive performance. So many penalties, sloppy play on both sides of the ball. Not much pressure on the QB, not much consistency on O. 

I won't go on and on, because no one cares about my uninformed opinion but that needs to be cleaned up asap. Glad to get the win, but that type of performance is not on or acceptable. 

[AusMOJO]

14 minutes ago, tsip92 said:

Having Arch turn his back to the LOS and then have him throw an inside screen is nuts.  He has no chance to see if a defender is there before he has to decide whether to throw the ball or not.  Just terrible play design.  Sark did it with Quinn to with similar issues. 

Yes I agree, I'm not the biggest fan of it but Sark seems to like it, for whatever reason. 

[AusMOJO]

2 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

Seventh-ranked Texas opened the 2025 home schedule by checking a lot of boxes in Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State.

Arch Manning threw for 295 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing), quarterbacking an offense that racked up 472 yards (7.3 yards per play). Parker Livingstone recorded the first 100-yard game of his young career (128 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions) and CJ Baxter Jr. (13 carries for 64 yards) paced the running game, which averaged 5.2 sack-adjusted yards per attempt (162 yards gained on 31 non-sack rushing attempts).

Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense forced four turnovers (two fumbles forced by Anthony Hill Jr., one forced by Ty’Anthony Smith and an interception by Jaylon Guilbeau), which the offense turned into 21 points. The Longhorns limited the Spartans to a combined 4-for-17 effort on third and fourth down (4-for-15 on third down) and held them under 100 yards on the ground (85 total, 2.9 yards per attempt).

With that said, the undisciplined, sloppy nature that clouded the 31-point margin of victory is best summarized by how the offense bookended the game.

DeAndre Moore Jr.’s 28-yard gain on a flip pass from Manning on the first play from scrimmage was negated because of a holding penalty. Jerrick Gibson fumbled at the end of a 6-yard gain in the closing seconds of the game, marking the offense’s second turnover near the red zone.

The toughest opponent Texas faced on Saturday was itself, and the Longhorns couldn’t get out of their way for long stretches of the game.

— There’s no way to sugarcoat 12 penalties for 115 yards. 

Whether the infractions were committed before or after the snap, Texas has proven itself to be a sloppy, undisciplined team eight quarters into the season. The Longhorns wanted to put a cleaner product on the field than what it showed against Ohio State, but the mission wasn’t accomplished on Saturday.

— Along with penalties, Texas must be better situationally.

Manning’s most egregious mistake of the game was trying to throw a ball away late in the first half, which was intercepted near the goal line. While Gibson’s fumble didn’t count as a turnover in the red zone, the Longhorns have scored three touchdowns on six red-zone possessions through two games.

Texas is now 7-for-26 on third down on the season. The offense was 2-for-12 on third down (average to-go distance of 9.7 yards), including 0-for-6 on third-and-9 or longer.

Manning’s interception, a situation in which he’ll hopefully take the sack and live to fight another down in the future, came with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. For the second time in as many games, the Longhorns failed to get points in a two-minute situation with the opponent set to receive the second-half kickoff.

— I usually don’t mind the aggressiveness to come after a punt, but in a scoreless game, and with an offense in desperate need of confidence, the 15-yard penalty Texas was assessed for roughing the punter brought the defense back on the field instead of the offense opening its third possession on the plus side of the field.

— Manning (19-for-30 throwing the football) had moments where he played with confidence, stood his ground in the pocket and delivered the ball where it needed to go. The redshirt sophomore was by no means perfect, but the chemistry he’s building with Livingstone and Jack Endries (52 yards and a touchdown on two receptions) can go a long way toward laying the 2025 passing game's foundation.

— Moore, who left the game with an undisclosed injury, and Ryan Wingo combined to catch eight balls for 60 yards on 12 targets. While Moore’s longest gain of the day was wiped out due to a penalty and Wingo dropped what could’ve been a long third-down conversion on a ball Manning put on the money, the attention Wingo drew on a post/corner combination route and Moore’s motion near the goal line opened windows on Livingstone’s two touchdown receptions.

— San Jose State’s tight defensive alignment made it tougher for Texas to run the ball than it should’ve been against a defense that was gashed on the ground by Central Michigan (236 yards allowed).

Still, it seemed like the Longhorn offensive line lacked a sense of urgency in the running game, and the Spartans won their share of one-on-one battles, which resulted in four tackles for loss and more pressure on Manning (six hurries) than expected. Saturday’s performance by the offensive line didn’t measure up to the effort in Columbus.

— After two games, the identity of the offense remains a mystery.

Going into the season, there was expected to be a shift away from the quick-game-heavy offense Quinn Ewers operated. The short game was largely a non-factor on Saturday, the intermediate game has been erratic and the offense hasn’t connected on enough vertical shots to lean on the deep ball.

The passing game is more of a work in progress than I expected it to be, even this early.

— For the most part, the defense seemed willing to let San Jose State run the football and connect on short passes.

Kwiatkowski’s plan to rely on a light box to defend the run while trying to limit yards after the catch got the job done. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t expect Texas to be as bland as it was on Saturday against the better offenses it’ll face in the SEC.

— Whether the Longhorns' miscues can be chalked up to growing pains or not, the most frustrating aspect regarding the seemingly endless series of self-inflicted wounds is what the on-field product looked like when Texas had everything clicking.

The Longhorns scored 28 points between the 4:10 mark of the first quarter and when there was 12:56 left on the clock in the second quarter, 21 of which came off turnovers. Unfortunately, the time surrounding the 7:14 blitzkrieg was riddled with mistakes that Texas must eliminate to be the type of team it wants to be by season’s end.

 

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I agree with you about the D, PK won't be doing this vanilla ass stuff against better teams, as was shown against Ohio State. It would be nice for us to stamp our authority on lesser teams though, regardless. 

Was happy to get the W and happy to see some of the boys perform well but overall I don't think anyone would be happy with the sloppiness and laziness we saw in this one. Tough week at practice for these boys, that's for sure. 

[AusMOJO]

1 hour ago, Califashorn75 said:

Wingo needs to catch the balls that hit him in the hands. He gives up too easily. Receivers have to fight for the catch but the easy ones are just that. 

Yes, you're supposed to be WR #1 and he's looked less than impressive two games in. Needs to wake up and make some plays. 

[CGG]

Wingo also needs a little help from his QB.

Edited 2 hours ago by CGG

[Tuco Ramirez]

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate the thorough and frank analysis.

[HookemHorns]

Starting to wonder a bit if Sark is too smart for his own good. 
 

Can we just do a simple zone read now and again, use Arch as a threat on most every run play. You don’t have to run him but using him as a constraint seems like a no brainer and we aren’t doing it. Even the NFL is using their QB as a runner. 
 

Can we use a little misdirection please? Like the first play from scrimmage. Other than that we are so vanilla. It’s ok to be creative, even the NFL is creative these days. Feels like we are trying to be the tough guy and not playing to our strengths. 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

1 minute ago, HookemHorns said:

Starting to wonder a bit if Sark is too smart for his own good. 
 

Can we just do a simple zone read now and again, use Arch as a threat on most every run play. You don’t have to run him but using him as a constraint seems like a no brainer and we aren’t doing it. Even the NFL is using their QB as a runner. 
 

Can we use a little misdirection please? Like the first play from scrimmage. Other than that we are so vanilla. It’s ok to be creative, even the NFL is creative these days. Feels like we are trying to be the tough guy and not playing to our strengths. 

Arbuckle and Mateer made it look easy

[Jonas Peterson]

Our running game is ass. Central Michigan Chippewas ran for 236 yards against this team, we ran for 86. The stats don't lie.