No. 7 Texas will look to wash away the bad taste from a season-opening loss at then-No. 3 Ohio State and work for improvement across the board when the Longhorns meet San Jose State on Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas.
Texas dropped six spots from the top of the preseason Associated Press poll after a 14-7 defeat in Columbus, Ohio, becoming the first team since 1990 — and just the seventh ever — to start the season ranked first nationally and then lose its first game.
Texas lost despite outgaining the Buckeyes 336-203, with two scoreless trips inside the Ohio State 10-yard line the deciding factor. Ohio State was elevated to the top spot in the poll after beating the Longhorns.
“The biggest thing coming out of the loss is there’s lots to build on from that game,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “I thought we built on a lot of things during the game. We didn’t have enough explosive plays Saturday. We had chances to do it and just didn’t. It didn’t happen the way we would have liked. We’ve got to find ways to be efficient yet also be explosive.”
It was the first collegiate road start for much-ballyhooed quarterback Arch Manning, who struggled against the talented Ohio State defense, going 17 of 30 for 170 yards and needing a late TD pass to keep the Longhorns from being shut out.
“I’m determined,” Manning said Monday. “I think this is going to motivate me to play better, and that’s what we need to win. I’ve got to play better, got to lead more, got to get our guys to play well around me, and ultimately I wasn’t good enough.”
But don’t think Texas is pushing any panic button on either its season or about Manning. There’s a reason the Longhorns were ranked No. 1 entering the year, and Texas will have three consecutive home games against mid-major teams and an open week to address any issues before opening Southeastern Conference play at Florida on Oct. 4.
“One thing that happened a little bit to Arch is the game can mount on you a little bit and you feel like ‘we’re not scoring’ or ‘I missed a read’ or ‘I missed a throw’ when in reality, you look at the scoreboard and it’s still 0-0. You feel like you’ve got to make a play,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t think he needed to press, and I think he’ll learn that as we go.”
The Spartans also dropped their season opener last week, 16-14 at home to Central Michigan. San Jose State, which plays in the Mountain West Conference, rallied from a 13-0 deficit to take the lead in the third quarter before a field goal with 4:13 to play won the game for Central Michigan.
“We have no choice but to bounce back,” San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We’re playing the best team in the country when we come back. We’ve got to play better at quarterback. We’ve got to make better decisions. We’ve got to take care of the ball.”
San Jose State was led by Walter Eget’s 308 yards passing and two touchdowns, with nine of Eget’s 24 completions going to wideout Danny Scudero for 189 yards and a TD.
