Arch Manning looks sharp with 3 TD passes and No. 8 Texas routs Sam Houston before start of SEC play

Audio By Carbonatix

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns in his sharpest game of the season so far as No. 8 Texas cruised to a 55-0 win over Sam Houston on Saturday night.

Manning was 18 of 21 passing and also ran for two first-half touchdowns. He connected with Ryan Wingo for touchdowns of 53 and 13 yards in the third quarter before leaving the game with Texas (3-1) leading 45-0.

“It felt good,” Manning said. “I wish I could have done that the last (three) weeks. But I'm glad we did it tonight ... Got the ball in my guys' hands and let them go to work."

Manning needed a confidence builder after a poor start to the season and got one against the overmatched Bearkats (0-4). His passes looked crisp and decisive, and his first touchdown run saw him stand and flex over a defender before a game official broke them up.

His Texas teammates were glad to see it.

“He got his swagger back,” Texas senior safety Michael Taaffe said. “Everybody knew that it was in there. What he showed tonight is what we expect.”

Manning said he worried he'd get a taunting penalty, and that he quickly apologized to the game official.

“Probably a little much there. My mom was pretty mad about it," Manning said. “I think it was some built up frustration for the past few weeks."

Manning had come into the game completing just 55% of his passes. The preseason betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy had promised several times during the week he would start playing better. At one point Saturday night, Manning completed 14 passes in a row.

“When he plays a little looser and he’s free, that’s the best version of Arch,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He got going and started throwing the ball. Started using his legs. You could feel the bounce in his step on the field.”

Sam Houston: The Bearkats were completely smothered by the Texas defense. Their first 15 plays totaled 17 yards with no first downs.

Texas: Manning shredded an overmatched opponent. After his rough start to the season, the performance should earn him a ton of credit inside the Longhorns locker room heading into the Southeastern Conference schedule.

Manning said he won't concern himself with the national chatter about him this week, or the critics who dismissed him after the first few games.

“I'm not really worried about what anyone thinks of the narratives. I'm just trying to play ball, get wins. That's most important, especially going into SEC play. Right?” he said.

Texas preseason all-American edge rusher Colin Simmons got his first solo sack of the season on the first play of the game. Texas finished with five sacks for the game.

Texas has been waiting for a breakout performance from Wingo, who was expected to be the big target in the passing game. He had six catches for 93 yards and now has three touchdowns over the past two games.

“We had some explosive plays,” Sarkisian said. “We found the connection there with Arch and Ryan, which obviously is big for us.”

Sam Houston plays at New Mexico State on Oct. 2.

Texas opens SEC play at Florida on Oct. 4.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football