The Longhorns played their first night game of the season at Darrell K Royal Stadium and the Texas fans had plenty to cheer about as the Longhorns defeated UTSA 56-7 to move to 3-0 on the season.

The game wasn’t without its share of stress, however. There’s concern about Quinn Ewers’ tight stomach, which knocked him out in the second quarter. The severity of the Heisman candidate is still uncertain, but it appears backup QB Arch Manning is on his way to becoming the star player he’s expected to be.

Overall, there were many teachable moments after a great win.

1. Arch Manning is the future.

Arch should be the starter now instead of Quinn, but what Texas fans just saw from Manning was astonishing.

Immediately after Manning entered the game for the injured Ewers, he ran a play-action, rolled comfortably out of the pocket and threw a dart to DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 19-yard touchdown.

The next drive took Arch almost as long to find the endzone as he ran past all UTSA defenders for a 67-yard rushing touchdown on just the second play of the drive. A Manning who can run is just unfair.

Manning’s final stat line included nine completed passes on 12 attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

While Arch certainly didn’t have a perfect game, he still showed his dual-threat ability to be a pocket passer and in many cases a dangerous scrambler. His 75-yard touchdown bomb to wide receiver Ryan Wingo was incredible.

Manning could be a starter for just about any team in college today. His performance isn’t just because UTSA has a below-average defense, Arch seems like a natural QB. But for Texas, Quinn Ewers is still the obvious answer if the Longhorns want to compete for a national championship as they plan to. But Texas will be lucky to have someone like Manning if Ewers ends up missing a week or two.

2. Jerrick Gibson can hold his own as a solid running back option.

Gibson didn’t dominate, but he still had solid games with starting running back Jaydon Blue unavailable. Gibson finished with 75 yards on 13 carries. He averaged 5.8 yards per rush, but didn’t have a rush that went for more than 11 yards. While that’s not a standout performance, it’s worth noting that Gibson was tackled for a loss just once in the game and could be a consistent option for short-yard pickups throughout the season.

Jaydon Blue’s injury is more a matter of Texas being cautious than anything else. Blue should be ready to go for Week 4, but Gibson could easily hold his own against ULM if Blue is out for some reason.

3. The defense must win the turnover battle against better opponents.

Winning the turnover battle usually means you control the game. And in the first two games, Texas’ defense consistently created turnovers.

UTSA proved to be slightly better with the ball than Michigan and Colorado State, allowing just one turnover, which came late in the fourth quarter thanks to a pick-six by Ethan Burke.

The defense was still comparable to UTSA’s offense in scoring, with both scoring one touchdown. However, SEC opponents have better offenses that can create more scoring opportunities.

Losing the turnover battle in this game didn’t do anything for the Longhorns, but two turnovers against Georgia could easily become crucial points for the Bulldogs.

4. The defensive line played their best game of the season.

Three sacks isn’t exactly eye-opening, but it’s a new single-season record for the Longhorns’ defense. For a team that allows just over six points per game, it’s truly surprising how hard it is for Texas to get to the quarterback.

The team totaled 12 tackles for loss on UTSA’s offense. Players like Barryn Sorrell and Ethan Burke were a constant problem throughout the game. Burke even returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game.

This defensive line can still improve, but we delivered a solid performance on Saturday.

5. The Texas public is ready for the SEC.

I say this as a student, this was a loud game. This is my third year as a student at Texas and aside from the Alabama game and the TCU game in 2022, this was the loudest thing that has happened in DKR.

In the past, the student section has never filled up or only filled up at kickoff when faced with a weaker non-conference opponent. At both Colorado State and UTSA, the student section was nearly full with an hour to go until kickoff.

Texas hasn’t been ranked this high in the AP Poll since 2009 (No. 2), so it makes sense that the hype is higher than usual. DKR doesn’t usually get a big reputation as an intimidating stadium to play in.

But with new SEC teams joining the fold this season, I think the assumption that the Texas crowd can’t be a factor will quickly disappear.

Texas will be back in action next week at the DKR against UL-Monroe. The game is at 7:00 PM on the SEC Network.