Arch Manning Throws Four Touchdowns as No. 5 Texas Rolls Texas State 59-7 in Season Opener

The Result

Number five Texas opened the 2026 college football season Saturday with a dominant 59-7 win over Texas State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. The Longhorns scored on eight of their nine drives, forced three turnovers, and held Texas State to fewer than 350 total yards. It was their ninth straight home-opening win.

Arch Manning’s Day

Manning finished 20 of 27 for 305 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception — matching a career high in touchdown passes. He connected with eight different receivers throughout the afternoon. His first throw of the season was a six-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman on the opening series, capping a four-play, 56-yard drive in just under two minutes.
He added a touchdown to Ryan Wingo on the next possession, a scoring strike to Hollywood Smothers in the third quarter, and connected with Coleman again for his fourth touchdown. The one blemish came just before halftime when he forced a throw into triple coverage in the end zone — a turnover that ended a promising drive. He left the game in the third quarter with Texas leading 42-7.
Postgame, Manning credited his teammates while taking responsibility for the bad throw. He said he liked how many playmakers got involved, described the rough patch before halftime as being on him, and called it a good first outing with room to improve.

Other Standouts

Hollywood Smothers gave the offense an immediate jolt on the first play from scrimmage, ripping off a 45-yard run to set up the opening score. Raleek Brown, who transferred from Arizona State, scored twice on the ground. Graceson Littleton added a 59-yard fumble return for a touchdown that put Texas ahead 28-0 in the second quarter.
Coleman, who transferred from Auburn and was one of the most sought-after players in the country when he signed with Texas, had three catches for 70 yards in his Longhorns debut. Wingo, who racked up 770 yards and seven touchdowns last season, had a highlight-reel sideline catch on fourth down before scoring.
Muschamp’s Defense Delivers
New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp returned to Texas for the first time since his previous stint ended in 2010. His defense held Texas State’s dual-threat quarterback Brad Jackson to 150 passing yards and 27 rushing yards — well below his typical output. Last season, Jackson totaled nearly 4,000 yards of total offense. Saturday, he was mostly contained.

Texas State’s Side

The Bobcats dropped to 0-1 as they begin their first season as a member of the rebuilt Pac-12 conference after 13 years in the Sun Belt. Coach G.J. Kinne did not sugarcoat the result, calling it a pretty terrible performance and acknowledging that Texas is a really good team. The Bobcats host UTSA next Saturday.

What’s Next for Texas

The Longhorns face a far stiffer test next Saturday when number one Ohio State comes to Austin. Ohio State opened its own season with a 56-3 demolition of Ball State on Friday. The matchup between two of college football’s most storied programs has been circled on calendars all offseason. Saturday’s performance gave Texas reason for optimism — but also gave Sarkisian things to address. He pointed specifically to the run game, saying it needs to be cleaner heading into next week.

Source: AP, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, SI.com, NBC DFW, Texas Longhorns Athletics