How Texas' Arch Manning took step in right direction during blowout win over San Jose State

Following an interception from the defense and another TD connection with Livingstone, Manning made quick work after a San Jose State fumble set the Longhorns up with excellent field position at the 36-yard-line. On the first play of that drive, he found tight end Jack Endries for the first of two scores between the two.

Despite the slow start, the Longhorns went up 28-7 after the second TD from Manning to Endries, capping a 4:56 stretch of game action with 28 points.

Manning used his legs on Saturday as well, scrambling for a 20-yard TD run to extend Texas' lead to 38-7 late in the third quarter.

Arch Manning showed improvement but still has work to do

While Manning finished 19-of-30 for 295 yards and four touchdowns with one rushing score, there are still some areas he needs to improve in going forward. To start with, he missed some throws early in the game and struggled with his mechanics in the pocket, which led to some incompletions.

His biggest error of the game came with 38 seconds remaining in the opening half. As Manning dropped back under pressure at the 13-yard line, he made a poor decision to throw the ball into double coverage and was picked off by San Jose State defensive back Jalen Apalit-Williams.

There are clearly some areas Manning still needs to work on, but with a defense that forced four turnovers and a veteran run game that went for 155 yards, the weapons are around him for this team to be successful.

With two more non-conference games against UTEP and Sam Houston in the next two weeks, Manning will have some additional opportunities to improve before a conference opener with No. 13 Florida on Oct. 4.

Manning continued to experience some growing pains on Saturday, but he still accounted for five touchdowns and showed we can do when he has time to operate. He needs to get better when conference play rolls around, but his performance against San Jose State was a step in the right direction.