No. 8 Texas is now in its bye week before facing the Florida Gators, and it’s got momentum as it’s coming off a strong and impressive 55-0 win over Sam Houston State on Saturday.

It was the Longhorns’ best performance of the season; therefore, they will receive their best report card of the year so far.

The offense and the defense will both receive a numerical grade, which will be rounded to an overall letter grade.

Offense: 92

Some may question why the grade is low, while some may question why it is high. But here’s the thing: The test was Sam Houston State, and although it may be a relatively easy exam, the Longhorns aced it.

There are definitely some things that could have been better, the offensive line specifically, but the Texas offense performed, and there’s no other way around it. Some fans may have wanted to see 70 points, but that’s not always realistic or necessary.

The offensive line definitely still needs to improve, in terms of finesse, mechanics, and penalties, but it still held up better than it has in other games, which also contributed to a successful offensive performance.

Quarterback Arch Manning looked like who he’s supposed to be as he read through his progressions, found, and hit receivers all over the field. His most notable play came as he delivered a perfect 53-yard pass to wide receiver Ryan Wingo for a touchdown.

Wingo and fellow wide receiver DeAndre Moore made huge differences for the Longhorns, which is something we’ve yet to see so far this season. But they both made big plays and proved themselves to be true threats.

The one thing that really could have been improved upon, and this is kind of tied to the offensive line, is the ground game.

Although the team finished with about 40 more rushing yards on 15 fewer rushes, that was in major part due to a late-game 50-yard rush by quarterback Matthew Campbell and a 32-yard reverse to Wingo.

165 rushing yards were recorded by the running backs alone, which is just four yards fewer than what the running backs recorded last week, but what it really comes out to is just 4.2 average yards per carry against SHSU, and 3.5 against UTEP.

So the ground game is still something that could be heavily improved upon, because you can’t always rely on Manning to be the one to make plays, whether that be in the passing game or with him utilizing his legs.

Overall, it was a solid performance and one that we hope to see again when Texas takes on Florida in The Swamp.

Defense: 97

Consistency is key. That’s almost the only thing there is to say about the defense.

This defense has been the only consistent thing about this Texas team, and it was great to see the defense finally get its first shutout of the season, as they have been displaying champion-caliber play since Week 1.

Five sacks and 10 tackles for a loss were nice to see, as that has been one area of the defense in which it has somewhat struggled. But that was better this week, and it was able to continue the trend of creating turnovers, albeit just one, though.

Obviously, there’s always going to be some room for improvement in the small details, but the defense continued to hold up, lock down receivers, force quick three-and-outs, and make plays all over the field.

Plenty of young guys also got their chance to play, and in the end, there were no complaints. This defense has continued to show that it is capable of playing against some of the best offenses in the country, and that’s all you can really ask for.

Overall, the defense is the best part of this team, and it’s finally getting the break that it needs and deserves before SEC play.

Overall grade: A

Minor tweaks could still be made, but it seems as if the offense is finally finding its rhythm, and that will lead to less stress being put on the defense, which will lead to more overall success long-term.