Discussion about Texas Football, Arch Manning, non-league games and polls
American-Statesman reporters discuss Arch Manning, non-league games and whether Texas should have overtaken Georgia in the Associated Press poll.
Heisman Trophy candidate Quinn Ewers is out as quarterback for the Texas football team, and highly touted backup Arch Manning is the starter – at least for one week.
Manning threw two touchdown passes and Jaydon Blue scored twice as Texas (3-0) took an early lead at the end of the first quarter to beat Louisiana-Monroe. Follow Manning and the Longhorns live against the Warhawks.
How to watch the Texas football game against Louisiana-Monroe
| . | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| ULM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEXAS | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Arch Manning shook off an early interception and threw 8 of 12 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. The ULM offense has only rushed for 27 yards on 13 snaps, making Texas a solid No. 1 team in this week’s Associated Press poll.
Arch Manning and freshman Ryan Wingo continue to show their chemistry. Wingo caught two passes for 42 yards, including one for 17 yards, on the Longhorns’ final scoring drive. Texas is scoring early and often, and Manning has 138 yards and two touchdowns on 8 of 12 passing.
Second-year middle linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. gets his first career interception after dropping back and catching a pass from General Booty in the flat. He returns it for a touchdown, but a block from Trey Moore in the back negates the point. But the interception counts and Arch Manning finds running back Jaydon Blue for a 3-yard touchdown pass. That’s two touchdowns for Blue already.
Arch Manning quickly makes up for his early interception by throwing a beautiful 56-yard pass to Isaiah Bond that sets up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jaydon Blue, his first rushing TD of the season.
Maybe the redshirt sophomore quarterback is human after all. A week after throwing 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns, Arch Manning threw the first interception of his career. It was an ill-advised throw to Matthew Golden in double coverage, and ULM defensive back Carl Fauntroy proved more than willing to take advantage of the mistake.
After missing last week’s win over UTSA with an ankle injury, running back Jaydon Blue returns to the starting lineup. The junior from the Houston suburb of Klein has 79 yards on 20 carries and 74 yards and one touchdown on nine passes caught this season.
As expected, starting quarterback Quinn Ewers has been officially ruled out of tonight’s game by Texas officials. But safety Derek Williams Jr. will also miss the game with a hamstring injury, which is surprising since the 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore was not mentioned in an injury briefing with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian this week. Williams has played with Michael Taaffe as a free safety all season and has seven tackles and one interception.
Running backs Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner, who Sarkisian had described as “day to day” earlier in the week, are warming up.
ULM quarterback General Booty has helped bring much-needed stability to a Warhawks offense that stumbled under former coach Terry Bowden. From 2020-23, the Warhawks never averaged more than 22.3 points and twice fell under the 20-point barrier. That’s a different story now. ULM scored 30 points in a season-opening win over Football Championship Series opponent Jackson State, then beat Trent Dilfer’s UAB team 32-6 in Week 2. The Warhawks have done that by keeping it simple for Booty, who transferred from Oklahoma in the offseason after not throwing a single pass in two seasons as a Sooner.
GOLDEN: The Texas-ULM football game gets the necessary spice before Arch Manning’s first start
What channel is the Texas vs. ULM game on today?
- TV channels: ESPN+, SEC Network+
- Streaming: Watch ESPN; Fubo (free trial)
- Radio: 1300 hours, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM (Spanish)
Texas vs. ULM will air nationally on ESPN+ and SEC Network+ during Week 4 of the 2024 college football season. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
History of Texas vs. ULM
- Series record: Texas, 2-0
- Last win by Texas: 3 September 2022 (52-10)
- ULM last victory: N/A
MORE: Arch Manning will start. What other injuries did Texas coach Steve Sarkisian mention?
Predictions for Texas vs. ULM
Thomas Jones, Texas Beat writer
Texas 45, UT 0
The defense remains dominant
Watch some film and the Warhawks’ performance jumps out at you. But so does the lack of playmaking at receiver and in the secondary, which doesn’t bode well against the Longhorns.
Cedric Golden, columnist
Texas 62, ULM 7
ARCH SUPPORT
No Quinn, no problem. Even without QB1, the Longhorns are still the best team in the country. Arch Manning won’t be asked to step up as he has a great supporting cast. The Horns will score another defensive touchdown and head into SEC play with plenty of momentum.
Danny Davis, Texas Beat Writer
SEC WAITS – FORTUNATELY
The Longhorns haven’t been particularly challenged during non-conference play and that will not change this week against ULM. Expect Texas to win this game in the first half and then the countdown to the start of SEC play can begin.
David Eckert, Texas Insider
Texas 55, ULM 3
UGLY WINNING, SO TO MIND
Typically one of the worst programs in the FBS, ULM appears to be a step above that this season under new coach Bryant Vincent, who is coming off a blowout win in Week 2 over a UAB team he used to coach. Still, this is not a Group of Five program at a stage where it can hope to compete with the talent at Texas. This is going to get ugly.
A LOOK FROM THE INSIDE: After 9 NFL seasons, Alex Okafor makes room in the Longhorns’ media landscape
Texas vs. ULM Betting Odds
BetMGM’s lines and odds for Saturday:
- Spread: Texas with 44.5
- Over/Under: 52.5
- Money line: Texas -50,000; ULM +4,000
Injury updates for Texas vs. ULM
Running back CJ Baxter is out for the rest of the season for Texas, as is one of his backups, freshman Christian Clark. Quarterback Quinn Ewers will not play and will remain week-to-week for Texas. Running back Jaydon Blue, running back Quintrevion Wisner, safety Jelani McDonald and defensive tackle Aaron Bryant will not be decided until game time.
Texas vs. ULM Weather Update
According to the National Weather Service, Austin is in for a hot and humid day. Temperatures will still be around 35 degrees at kickoff, with high humidity.
Texas Football 2024 Schedule
ULM football schedule 2024
- August 29: ULM 30, Jackson State 16
- 7 September: ULM 32, UAB 6
- Sept. 21: in Texas, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 28: in Troy, 6 p.m.
- Oct. 5: vs. James Madison, TBA
- Oct. 12: vs. Southern Miss, TBA
- Oct. 26: at South Alabama, TBA
- November 2: at Marshall, TBA
- November 9: vs. Texas State, TBA
- November 16: in Auburn, 11:45 a.m.
- November 23: at Arkansas State, TBA
- November 30: vs. Louisiana, TBA
Texas football news
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