AUSTIN, Texas — Robert Henry Jr. rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown and Martavius French had a team-high seven tackles, but it was not enough in a 56-7 setback to No. 2 Texas on Saturday night in front of 101,892 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Henry led the Roadrunners’ ground game and scored the lone TD of the day on a 53-yard dash in the second quarter, as UTSA (1-2) rushed for 128 on the day.
French paced a defense that came up with two takeaways — an interception by Owen Pewee and a fumble recovery by Tyan Milton — extending the streak of consecutive games with a takeaway to 13 dating back to last September. Jamal Ligon, Brevin Randle, Elliott Davison and Jimmy Wyrick registered five tackles apiece.
Arch Manning came off the bench to throw for 223 yards and four touchdowns, rushing for another to help the Longhorns (3-0) post 614 total yards, including 427 passing. Ryan Wingo had a game-high 127 receiving yards and Isaiah Bond added 103.
The Longhorns drove 84 yards in eight plays, the last a 7-yard touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Bond that put the home team on the board first.
Later in the opening quarter, Pewee came up with his second career interception and returned it 11 yards to the Texas 31-yard line. However, UTSA could not take advantage of field position, turning the ball back over on downs.
Texas pushed its lead to 21-0 after 19-yard TD receptions by Johntay Cook II and DeAndre Moore Jr., but the Roadrunners got on the board when Henry broke loose for his 53-yard sprint to paydirt. Chase Allen’s extra point made it 21-7 with 11:39 left in the second quarter.
The Longhorns answered, as Manning, who came on in relief for an injured Ewers, got loose for a 67-yard TD run to extend the lead back to 21.
Texas quickly upped its lead early in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes by Manning, one for 51 yards to Bond and a second for 75 yards to Wingo.
Manning added another touchdown pass early in the final frame, connecting with Cook II for a 12-yard score.
Ethan Burke picked off a pass in the final two minutes and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to provide the final margin.
The Roadrunners will return home to host Houston Christian next Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Alamodome.
-UTSA-