Manning booed as Texas beats UTEP 27-10

Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns labored through a sluggish first half but held on for a 27-10 victory over UTEP on Saturday at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. The redshirt sophomore drew audible boos from the home crowd during a stretch in which he threw 10 consecutive incompletions, though he finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and the Longhorns improved to 2-1 on the season.

Manning completed just 5 of 16 passes for 69 yards and an interception in the first half as Texas managed a 14-3 lead at intermission after a late rushing score from the quarterback. The boos erupted late in the second quarter following a failed third down pass that marked his 10th straight incompletion. He finished the day 11 of 25 for 114 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception, and he added 51 rushing yards and two scores. Texas’ offense produced 187 yards in the first half, with 118 coming on the ground, and converted only one of nine third downs in that period.

Coach Steve Sarkisian sought to tamp down concern about the crowd reaction, saying it is part of a quarterback’s maturation. "I told Arch before the season, you've never really been a quarterback...