The Good, Bad and Ugly for Texas Longhorns Against Ohio State

The run game was the bright spot for the Longhorns' offense, as Texas accumulated 166 yards on the ground at a 4.5 yards-per-rush efficiency. Junior running back Quintrevion Wisner led the way with 80 yards, while redshirt sophomores running back CJ Baxter and quarterback Arch Manning combined for 78 more. Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo added a rush of 8 yards.

For the most part, Texas held its own in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Manning generally had ample time in the pocket, and the rushing attack impressed until reaching the red zone. Defensively, the Texas front limited Ohio State to only 77 rush yards on 2.3 yards per attempt.

The Longhorns will have plenty of learning moments to take away from this game, but their work at the line of scrimmage should be considered a positive. The secondary showed its worth as well, with freshman corner Graceson Littleton standing out in his collegiate debut.

Maybe the most impressive singular player for Texas on Saturday was senior punter Jack Bouwmeester. Across four punts, Bouwmeester averaged 46.3 yards per punt and forced Ohio State to begin three drives within their own ten-yard line.

Bad:

The nerves were there for Manning in his first game as the Longhorns' permanent starter.

The inaccurate and poorly timed throws were glaring and disrupted any Texas momentum building on many drives. His interception late in the third quarter was a clear example, when Manning's throw to Wingo was undercut by Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr.:

Manning showed glimpses in the fourth quarter with a 32-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone and a 30-yard completion to junior tight end Jack Endries on the following drive. But a dispiriting incompletion to Wingo and a failed fourth-down conversion confirmed it was too little, too late from Manning's Longhorns.

"Ultimately, not good enough," Manning said postgame, per Inside Texas. "Obviously you don't want to start off the season 0-1. They're a good team. I thought we beat ourselves a lot, and that starts with me. I've got to play better for us to win."

Manning ended 17-of-30 for 170 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. But that stat line makes Texas's passing performance look better than it was. At halftime, Manning had only five completions. Though not helped out much by his wideouts or the playcalling, he looked surprisingly uneasy mechanically and indecisive on his reads, even with an often clean pocket.

It's only Week 1, but Manning and his pass-catching corps have unveiled the areas in need of improvement as Texas heads into three home non-conference games.

Ugly:

Texas's red zone woes caused flashbacks to the meeting with Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl in January.

With a first down at the opposing nine-yard line in the third quarter, Texas ran the ball four consecutive times, culminating with a seemingly predictable failed sneak by Manning.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame he called the play to prevent Ohio State from substituting, per Inside Texas:

"I think they got under us pretty good and kind of took Arch's legs out from them," Sarkisian said. "Hindsight is 2020, if I could do it all over again, we probably sub and they put their big guys in, we put our big guys in, and see if we can get it in the end zone."

Later, the Longhorns again entered the red zone in another drive primarily generated by the run. With a third-and-three at the nine-yard line, the offense stalled, concluding with two incompletions and resulting in another turnover-on-downs.

Late down inefficiency, coupled with those red zone difficulties, caused the Longhorns to struggle in big moments overall. The Texas offense went one-for-five on fourth down, ultimately unable to overcome missed opportunities and penalties.

Texas will enter next weekend's San Jose State game at 0-1 despite outgaining Ohio State by 133 total yards.

"We're going to be fine. We've got work to do as a team and as an offense, but ultimately, I'm getting on the plane knowing we're going to be a good football team," Sarkisian said, per Inside Texas. "We didn't win tonight. That's the life of a competitor. We went for it in a tough place against a good team. But we'll get back on the horse and we'll play good football this season."