AUSTIN, Texas — Since opening the season with an offensive thud at defending national champion Ohio State, the eyes of college football fans, pundits and meme makers were fixated upon Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
On Saturday afternoon, they saw the wunderkind bounce back in a big way by throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 23 yards and another score to lead the Longhorns to a 38-7 victory over San Jose State in front of 100,841 fans at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
The man himself wasn’t so impressed.
“It was sloppy on my part,” Manning said. “You can’t turn the ball over in the red area. I made some throws where the defense had a chance to pick, which they didn’t. I’ve got to play better.”
The Texas defense showed up in a big way by forcing four turnovers — all in the first half —that led to 21 points for the offense. Jaylon Guilbeau made his first career interception after teammate Jelani McDonald tipped a pass.
McDonald, Ty'Anthony Smith and Trey Moore recovered fumbles. Smith forced a fumble, while fellow linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. forced the other two. The Longhorns defense has given up 21 points in the first two games of the season.
“You guys heard me talking all week about our ability to generate turnovers on defense,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It wasn’t just about stopping people, but that we needed to attack the football more. Clearly, we did that in the first half.”
Manning got off to a sluggish start as Texas (1-1) punted on its first two possessions before he threw touchdowns on the next four in the span of 4:56 of game clock.
Parker Livingstone caught the first two, including an 83-yarder, and tight end Jack Endries caught the next two to stake the Longhorns to a 28-7 halftime lead. Livingstone finished with four catches for 128 yards, while running back CJ Baxter Jr. tallied 64 yards on 13 carries.
“Parker is a really good player,” Manning said. “He’s been a touchdown machine lately. I feel like we have a good connection that’s only going to grow.”
Texas added a field goal and a dazzling 20-yard touchdown scramble by Manning in the second half while the defense held the Spartans (0-2) scoreless.
“I thought Arch played a really good game,” Sarkisian said. “We were able to create explosive pass plays. We are at our best as an offensive football team when we can run it and create those explosive pass plays.”
Manning was making his fourth start for Texas but his first at home as the full-time starter. Last season, he threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 108 yards and four touchdowns for the 13-3 Longhorns while backing up Quinn Ewers.
“At the end of the game, we came up to each other and said we loved each other,” Texas defensive back Michael Taaffe, who finished with eight tackles, said of Manning. “He had a smile on his face. I think he should walk out of this one with a smile on his face.
“Five touchdowns — that’s really hard to do no matter who the opponent is. If you are scoring five touchdowns in one game, that means we played really good. I’m proud of him. I keep encouraging him. He’s the best quarterback in the country.”
Only four other quarterbacks in Texas history — Vince Young, Sam Ehlinger, Casey Thompson and Ewers (twice) — have thrown for four touchdowns in a game.
“He extended plays and used his arm to create explosive plays,” Sarkisian said of Manning. “He extended plays and used his legs, scrambles for a touchdown. That’s the style of player that he is.”
Although they won handily, the Longhorns had two turnovers of their own and committed 12 penalties for 115 yards.
“That’s unacceptable,” Sarkisian said. “There’s a standard in which we want to play the game. Twelve penalties does not meet that standard.”
San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget threw for 188 yards, while running back Jabari Bates had 10 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Kyri Shoels had eight catches for 73 yards to lead the team.
The Longhorns will be back at home next week against UTEP, while the Spartans host Idaho on Sept. 20 after a bye.