For the first time this season, Texas football (3-1) seemed to play with the swagger befitting the nation’s preseason No. 1 team. Sure, Saturday’s 55-0 win over Sam Houston (0-4) came against a team struggling to overcome heavy portal losses in the offseason. But after watching quarterback Arch Manning and the Texas offense struggle through the first few weeks of the season, fans could care less about the opponent.

The No. 8 Longhorns racked up a season-high 607 yards while holding a foe to a season-low 113 yards. Manning keyed the offensive assault by throwing for a season-high 309 yards and accounting for five touchdowns while leading the offense to scores on its first nine possessions.

Texas gets its first open week of the season next weekend and will open SEC play Oct. 4 at Florida. 

Here’s how the Longhorns graded out in the 55-0 win over Sam Houston.

In the cleanest game of his career, Manning completed 18 of 21 passes for 309 yards and didn’t come close to committing a turnover. He also judiciously showed off his running ability, scoring two rushing touchdowns even though he only had five carries. Sam Houston may have one of the worst pass defenses in the country, but Manning’s swagger seemed to spark his team.  

The Longhorns played a second straight game without injured lead backs Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter, but the youngsters showed plenty of spunk. Redshirt freshman Christian Clark paced the team with 13 carries for 62 yards and sophomore Jerrik Gibson added 53 yards on 11 carries and the first rushing touchdown of the season from a running back. Freshman James Simon added 50 yards on nine carries.

The return of DeAndre Moore Jr. after a one-game absence because of an injury seemed to inspire the entire unit. Moore grabbed a season-high five catches for 79 yards and Ryan Wingo exploded for a season-high 93 yards and two touchdowns on four catches. Curiously, tight end Jack Endries didn’t have a single reception.

Even though Texas had to play without starting center Cole Hutson, the unit still cleared some big holes in the interior of the line. Left guard Connor Stroh played well in his second start and backup center Connor Roberston had a strong game despite two penalties in the opening quarter. Manning went down once and had a few pressures as right tackle Brandon Baker continues to show some inconsistency in his first year as a starter.

Edge rusher Colin Simmons had his first full sack of the season early in the game before quieting down, but defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski relied more on blitzes than previous weeks to apply pressure. Lavon Johnson, a junior transfer from Maryland, continues to see increased snaps inside and had a tackle for a loss, and Brad Spence had his best game of the season on the edge with three solo tackles.

Converted edge rusher Trey Moore had his first sack of the season and Ty’Anthony Smith had a team-high five tackles. However, a unit led by starters Anthony Hill Jr. and Liona Lefau didn’t make many high-impact plays.

Sam Houston quarterback Hunter Watson, who missed the previous two games with an injury, is a seasoned veteran, but he only completed 13 of 25 passes. Safety Jelani McDonald had an interception for the second consecutive game.

The kicking game has quickly become a team strength. Kicker Mason Shipley remains perfect on the season after drilling a pair of field goals and Ryan Niblett tallied 56 yards on three punt returns, including a season-long return of 49 yards

Whatever head coach Steve Sarkisian said to Manning in a one-on-one meeting last Sunday seemed to have worked. Sarkisian called an aggressive yet sensible game from the opening kick, which allowed Manning to quickly find a comfort level. And his wily decision to make Sam Houston punt again after a penalty helped lead to Niblett’s big return against a gassed coverage unit.