No. 4 Texas Secures Win Over Colorado State In Dominant Fashion

Texas looked like it was in midseason form in its 52-0 shutout victory over Colorado State at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

While the Longhorn offense did start with a three-and-out, Texas would score on five of its next six drives in the first half, putting up 31 points in the first half. Quarterback Quinn Ewers spread the ball well between his new targets, juniors Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden, and senior Matthew Golden, with the latter scoring twice. Ewers finished the first half with 248 yards passing and three touchdowns while completing 72% of his throws.

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The Longhorn offense was without flaw in the first half except for Ewers’ interception, which was deflected near the line of scrimmage on the Longhorns’ third drive.

Meanwhile, the Texas defense was lights out, allowing only 78 yards in the first half against the Rams and creating short fields for the offense as the Rams were unable to get anything going on the ground against the Longhorns’ front seven. In the second quarter, Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi tried to go deep on third down, but senior Jahdae Barron showed his range with an incredible interception in the second quarter on a deep post route.

In the second half, the Longhorns went into cruise control. Ewers and the first-team offense would engineer a touchdown drive punctuated by a five-yard run by true freshman running back Jerrick Gibson. The Orlando native kept his legs churning and refused to go down until he reached the end zone after initially appearing to be stopped three yards short.

Related: Quinn Ewers Finishes the First Half with Stellar Stat Line Against Colorado State

After a stop on fourth-and-two by the Texas defense, redshirt freshman Arch Manning would enter the game with a short field and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd at Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. With the ball on the Rams’ five-yard line, the New Orleans native showed off his improvisation skills with a slick pitch to Silas Golden, the first passing touchdown of his collegiate career.

Throughout his three series, Manning showcased his ability and understanding of the offense, totaling two total touchdowns against a helpless Colorado State defense.

It appeared that the Rams would get on the board in the game’s waning moments before freshman Wardell Mack picked off backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau with 46 seconds remaining to preserve the shutout for the Longhorns.

No. 4 Texas now looks forward to its visit to “The Big House” to face the No. 9 Michigan Wolverines, the defending National Champions, on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. CT.