Texas football football coach Steve Sarkisian said he didn't shrink the Longhorns' playbook when Arch Manning entered Saturday's game against UTSA in relief of the injured Quinn Ewers.

He merely turned to a different chapter.

"What we try to do is really identify the things that each quarterback does well," Sarkisian said after Texas topped the Roadrunners 56-7. "Sometimes we prioritize different plays predicated on the quarterback. We ask them a lot of questions. Every Friday night, we sit with the quarterbacks and we go through the call sheet with them and we have them pick their favorite plays."

Texas' passing offense, indeed, looked a bit different with Manning under center than it did with Ewers.

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Arch Manning shows ability to throw at multiple levels

Interestingly, as Ewers' Texas career has developed, he's thrown fewer deep balls. In his first year leading the Longhorns' offense, Ewers' passes were, on average, 10.5 yards down the field. That shrunk to 8.4 yards in 2023 and sits at an even 6 yards so far in 2024.

After sheltering Manning a bit with some shorter passing plays in his season debut against Colorado State, Sarkisian immediately set Manning moving in the midrange game, hitting DeAndre Moore Jr. beyond the sticks for a 19-yard touchdown on his first snap.

Later, Manning was allowed to stretch his arm out.

He found freshman Ryan Wingo on a post route for a 75-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Later, he rolled out to his left and delivered a pinpoint pass on the move to Wingo for a 36-yard game in a truly exceptional display of arm talent and athleticism.

For the game, Manning averaged a 10.6-yard depth of target, going 4-for-5 on passing attempts 10 yards or more downfield.

The Longhorns looked explosive on offense with both quarterbacks. Manning and Ewers both engineered six big plays — but they took different routes to that destination.

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Breaking down Arch Manning's one key mistake against UTSA

Facing third-and-5 late in the second quarter, Manning took a sack as UTSA came after him with a backside blitz that went unblocked.

It looked to the untrained eye like Manning had just failed to adjust the protection in recognition of the blitz and was unable to get the ball out quickly against the pressure.

But it was a bit more complicated than that, Sarkisian explained postgame. The Longhorns managed the clock poorly and, as a result, had to communicate with the sidelines without the in-helmet communication device, which always turns off at the play clock's 15-second mark. After receiving the instruction, Manning snapped the ball with just 4 seconds on the play clock, meaning he might not have had time to adjust the protection.

"He had to get a snap and ends up getting sacked," Sarkisian said. "And he was able to come right off the field and verbalize all that to me in real-time, which tells me he was clear-minded and focused on what we were trying to do. Nobody likes to get sacked, but, in a weird way, it was probably kind of good for him to get hit and have to get back up and then go play again the next series."

Texas football grows even more passive on defense

Last week, we covered Texas football's declining blitz percentages against the pass, with the Longhorns sending pressure on just 20% of Michigan's passing plays — which marked a three-year low. Against UTSA, Texas blitzed even less frequently, bringing pressure on just 13.5% of the Roadrunners' dropbacks.

In fact, the Longhorns dropped an eighth man into coverage more frequently than they sent an extra man after the QB on Saturday.

But when Texas did bring pressure, it got home.

Liona Lefau sacked UTSA quarterback Owen McCown on a delayed blitz in the first half.

In the second half, Colton Vasek used help from a blitz package to get to the quarterback. His sack marked Texas' third of the game — a noteworthy development considering the Longhorns brought down the quarterback just once in the first two weeks of the season.

However, UTSA's lone touchdown of the game came from a failed blitz on a play that Sarkisian called a bust. With corner Jahdae Barron going after the quarterback, the Longhorns had no defensive backs on the left side of the field to contain Robert Henry, who went 53 yards for the score.

Diagnosing Texas' success on third down

Texas' defense has been elite on third down through three games, allowing conversions on just 23.3% of attempts to rank 10th in the country.

The Longhorns held UTSA to an eye-popping 2-for-17 on third down, and one of those conversions came on the final play of the game with the clock about to strike triple zeroes.

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Some of that success comes from the work Texas does on first and second down; UTSA went 0-for-5 on third-and-long. But the Longhorns' success defending third-and-short has been remarkable. The Roadrunners had five attempts at converting from four – or fewer – yards away, and their only conversion was that previously mentioned garbage-time triumph.

The Longhorns achieved that by winning up front. Though the sack numbers haven't been quite as gaudy with this rebuilt defensive line, it has proven it can stop the run in short-yardage situations.

The Texas football true freshman report

The Longhorns played 13 true freshmen against UTSA, reaping the rewards of the lopsided scoreline.

Of course, a handful of freshmen have solidified themselves as contributors outside of garbage time. Wingo, who led the Longhorns with 127 receiving yards, certainly qualifies. So does Jerrick Gibson, whose 78 rushing yards marked a game high, and Colin Simmons, who accounted for one of Texas' three sacks.

For the freshmen who aren't playing a key role, it's nearly time for the Longhorns to make a redshirt decision. Players can play in four games and retain their redshirt eligibility. Once they appear in a fifth game, they can no longer redshirt.

Rookie defensive back Kobe Black has appeared in all three games so far. Likewise, Ty'Anthony Smith collected a tackle for loss against the Roadrunners. He's playing more than any other freshman on special teams besides specialist Michael Kern.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football film study: Arch Manning shows arm talent vs. UTSA