Texas Longhorns transfers worth every penny, and other UT vs Texas State observations

What did Texas football get out of Saturday's 59-7 win over Texas State , a not-too-competitive season opener at Royal-Memorial Stadium that came down either to the Bobcats being literally out of their league or the Longhorns ready to take the country by storm. (More on that next week, though.)

Actually, the No. 5 Longhorns got quite a lot out of Saturday:

• Arch Manning was efficient and productive, threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns, completed 74% of his passes and led Texas to touchdowns on six of his seven drives on the day. He gave way to KJ Lacey (6 of 7 for 55 yards) in the third quarter. Manning looked good on deep balls, too.

• The Horns got some big plays from both of their new running backs, including a 45-yard run and a receiving TD by Hollywood Smothers and 13- and 21-yard TD runs from Raleek Brown .

• Texas' drives went TD, TD, TD, INT, TD, TD, TD, FG and TD on the day. The Horns scored on a defensive TD in there, too.

• And there were no significant injuries and Texas should head into next week's home showdown with No. 1 Ohio State with some confidence.

Here are some observations we saw from Saturday's win:

The way Manning played Saturday won't dull the Heisman hype that has followed the Texas quarterback since, well, he stepped on campus. Sure, he threw an ill-advised pick into the end zone that cost the Longhorns points at the end of the first half. But the numbers will jump out to Heisman voters: 305 yards, 20-of-27 passing and four touchdowns.

But you know what will leap out even further? A win over Ohio State.

Yes, new wideout Cam Coleman scored the first touchdown of the season for Texas and ended the game with a respectable 70 yards and a pair of scores on three catches. But returning starter Ryan Wingo keyed the passing game with seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. No one on the roster has as much experience playing catch with Manning than Wingo, and the third-year receiver proved the quarterback's go-to target.

New LB Rasheem Biles shows why he drew a big paycheck

Maybe we'll never know what Texas paid Rasheem Biles to transfer from Pittsburgh to Texas in the offseason. But the senior earned every penny against the Bobcats, however many there are. He forced a fumble that slot corner Graceson Littleton returned for a 59-yard touchdown, and he picked off Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson in the second half. He looks like the linchpin for new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

(1) Texas' first TD of the season was Coleman's 6-yard catch off a Manning toss into the corner of the end zone. Coleman follows these five former Longhorns as the first to score a TD in Sarkisian's first six years: RB Bijan Robinson 's 18-yard catch in 2021, RB Keilan Robinson 's blocked punt return in 2022, RB Jonathon Brooks ' 37-yard catch in 2023, RB Quintrevion Wisner 's 3-yard run in 2024 and WR Parker Livingstone 's 32-yard catch last year. (2) Gameballs go to Wingo and Biles. Nods to DT Alex January's tipped fourth-down pass, Littleton's big defensive TD, K Gianni Spetic's 48-yard FG and WR Sterling Berkhalter, who had the catch of the game. (3) Looking for nits? Manning's end zone interception, freshman RB Derrek Cooper ended the game in a walking boot, and ... punter Mac Chiumento will head into next week's big game with no kicks under his belt, maybe?

6:30 p.m. next Saturday at DKR. It's an ABC game.

The national game of the year, for sure in Week 2 but arguably also of the whole regular season, pits the No. 1 Buckeyes and the No. 5 Longhorns in Austin, where Texas is 19-1 in its last 20 home games, including a 5-1 record vs. ranked teams. Ohio State, which has registered a 2024 CFP win and a 2025 regular-season win over the Horns in recent years, will be favored.

This is how our own Cedric Golden called it in August: "This is the one Texas (has) to have. The Horns jump to No. 1 in the country, but much work remains. Texas 24, Ohio State 20 ."