The Texas Longhorns just announced themselves in the 2026 season, and they did so in resounding fashion with a dominant 59-7 win over the Texas State Bobcats.
It was an incredible performance by the Horns, but it wasn't without its flaws. However, while we learn from the minimal negatives, there are also a lot of positives to take away from Texas's Week 1 victory.
So, here are the biggest winners and losers from the Longhorns' first time taking the field this season:
Winner: WR Ryan Wingo
All of the hype surrounding Texas's offense seemed to focus on quarterback Arch Manning and his added weapons: running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown and wide receiver Cam Coleman.
However, all of that attention seemed to make everyone (including the Bobcats) forget about how talented Ryan Wingo is. An improvement in his body adjustments and a solidification of ball security led to Wingo having an absolutely banner day against Texas State.
Even after Sarkisian took the starters out with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Wingo was able to earn 121 yards on seven receptions for one touchdown.
Loser: Texas defensive secondary
As good as Texas's defense looked, forcing two turnovers and converting one of them for a touchdown, the defensive secondary was far from flawless.
Yes, the Bobcats are known for having an up-tempo, high-production offense, but Texas State should not be able to hold onto the ball for as long, and definitely not earn as many yards, as they did.
Starting quarterback Brad Jackson was able to amass 150 yards through the air and tacked on 27 rushing yards to his performance, too. Other than a few misthrows, Jackson went 15-of-23, seeming to find his downfield targets with ease.
When the Horns face the Ohio State Buckeyes, who boast star receivers like Jeremiah Smith, Devin McCuin, Legend Bey, and Brandon Inniss, they cannot afford to give wideouts as much space or as many opportunities as Texas State saw in Week 1.
Winner: LB Rasheem Biles
Colin Simmons is still the star of the show on the Longhorns' defense, and that much was only further cemented on Saturday. However, transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles was the guiding light against Texas State.
In the first half, Biles forced a fumble, which Graceson Littleton took back to the house for a touchdown. In the second half, Biles intercepted Brad Jackson, putting the cherry on top of his defensive showcase.
Simply put, Biles showed the rest of the country exactly what Sarkisian saw in him last season, and exactly what the Longhorns' head coach brought the veteran linebacker to Texas.
Winner: Texas offensive line
For the first time since he took the reins of the Texas offense, Arch Manning had time to make decisions and plays in the pocket.
Texas State was only able to get their hands on Manning once, and the one turnover he committed came when he tried to force a last-second touchdown at the end of the first half. Other than that, the offensive line did a nearly flawless job of protecting their man.
It was almost too good to be true after how shaky the offensive line looked last season. Just a year ago, Manning was pressured on 38% of his dropbacks. Today, it was like the defensive line wasn't even there most of the time.
Not to mention that the O-Line paved the way for Smothers and Brown to rack up their incredible performances, combining for 104 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The improvement to the offensive line was a work of art, and it was one of the biggest things the Horns needed to see ahead of Ohio State coming to town.
Loser: Ohio State "truthers"
While both the Longhorns and the Buckeyes improved to 1-0 on the season, they had far from similar experiences in Week 1.
The Ohio State offense started off slowly, and the offensive line looked shakier than it has in quite a while. Even though they were able to put up 56 points and hold their opponent to just 3, they were only playing the Ball State Cardinals... a team in the MAC that went 4-8 last year.
For comparison, Texas State went 6-6 in the regular season and then defeated the Rice Owls 41-10 in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin only threw for three touchdowns to Manning's four passing TDs, and the Buckeyes' defense only forced one turnover (an interception at the very beginning of the second quarter).
So, yes, the two powerhouse teams had similar results by the end of Saturday, but the idea that Ohio State could come into Texas's own house and curb stomp the Longhorns was resoundly shutdown.
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