By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — Week One is done, and for the first time in the three-year Tom Herman era on the Forty Acres, Texas is 1-0.
Sam Ehlinger tossed four touchdown passes and the Texas defense made most of the plays when it needed to as the 10th-ranked Longhorns waltzed past visiting Louisiana Tech 45-14 Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
Ehlinger, [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]the Longhorns’ erstwhile Heisman Trophy candidate, hit on 28 of 38 throws for 276 yards in three quarters of play. His longest pass of the night was for 28 yards, and he rushed eight times for 34 yards.
“I thought he managed the game really well,” Texas coach Tom Herman said after the game. “Sam missed a few throws. We were a little rusty. We started fast and built a big lead, but we have plenty to work on – we dropped a ball and we had six penalties. But it was a great first game, and we are excited to win.”
The Longhorns’ ranking in the Associated Press poll is their highest in the preseason since 2010, the year following their BCS championship game loss to Alabama. Things will get a lot tougher next Saturday for the Longhorns when they host sixth-ranked Louisiana State in a tantalizing early-season showdown.
Texas running back Keaontay Ingram rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Devin Duvernay’s nine catches, led the passing attack for Texas, which was in control throughout.
Quarterback J’Mar Smith passed for 331 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Louisiana Tech (0-1) in the loss, but the Bulldogs’ late charge was way too little, too late.
After the game, Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz was quick to laud Ehlinger for his command of the offense, calling him “the difference in their team.”
“We couldn’t get anywhere near him. He had all day back there a couple of times,” Holtz said. “He stood in there and made some throws and showed some poise. I was really impressed at the way he ran their system tonight.”
Texas wasted little time lighting the scoreboard, marching 57 yards in seven plays to a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Duvernay with 12:40 to play in the opening period. Duvernay caught four passes and carried once on the drive after returning the opening kickoff 36 yards.
The Longhorns added to their lead early in the second quarter on a 6-yard Ehlinger-to-Colin Johnson scoring pass and then expanded it to 21-0 at the 10:26 mark of the second on a 28-yard touchdown toss to Brennan Eagles two snaps after a fumble by Louisiana Tech’s Jacoby Jones.
Texas pushed its lead to 24-0 via a 43-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker with 2:56 to play until halftime but Dicker failed to convert from 49 yards out on the next-to-last play of the half.
The Longhorns outgained Louisiana Tech just 256-165 in the first half as the Bulldogs owned a more than three-minute edge in time of possession. But kicker Bailey Hale missed a pair of 43-yard field goals in the half, allowing Texas to dominate the scoreboard.
Eagles hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger on the Longhorns’ opening drive of the second half to build the Texas lead to 31-0. Ingram then bulled in for a score from a yard out and a 38-0 lead late in the third quarter in the final series for the Texas starters.
“I was surprised that I was so wide open on that throw. It was kind of strange to have so much green and no one around me,” Eagles said. “The coaches called the plays that gave me a chance to catch some balls, and I’m excited to have been able to contribute the way I did.”
Ingram then bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out for a score and a 38-0 lead late in the third quarter in the final series for the Texas starters.
Ingram, who had been limited in practice the past three weeks, said he felt fine physically, and that he was not impressed by his 7.1-yards per carry average for the game.
“(I was) kind of disappointed in my level of production,” Ingram said. “Simple fact: I don’t feel I helped the team enough.”
The Bulldogs finally found the end zone early in the fourth quarter when Smith hit Mailk Stanley with a 5-yard touchdown pass. Smith later connected with Griffin Herbert from 12 yards to end the Louisiana Tech’s scoring.
Texas backup quarterback Casey Thompson rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the waning minutes to finish off the Bulldogs.
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