Longhorns' defense is elite — and just might have to be

AUSTIN — The defense is real.

And that’s clearly something the Longhorns can hang their hats on.

Maybe have to hang their hats on.

The tenacious defense forced four turnovers. It sacked Walker Eget twice. It stopped San Jose State on fourth down twice. It gave up only one touchdown all game.

Furthermore, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is building lots of depth by playing everyone he can with freshmen like nickel back Graceson Littleton, safety Xavier Filsaime and end Lance Jackson just to name a few.

For the second game in a row, the Longhorns held their opponent to fewer than 275 yards of offense.

Ohio State scored twice on a drive helped by 25 yards of penalties and a big-play strike by receiver Carnell Tate, who bobbled the ball and recollected it. San Jose State scored one touchdown Saturday on an impressive 85-yard drive and got as close as the Texas 48 or closer six other times without putting up points.

That’s it through two games.

It’s pretty evident that Texas has an elite defense and it’s quite possible it may have to be.

That’s because even though the Longhorns, as expected, pounded San Jose State 38-7, the offense wasn’t very crisp. Good in spots but hardly dominant.

The running game produced fewer yards against the Spartans than against the Buckeyes.

Wide receiver Ryan Wingo looks more average than awesome.

Arch Manning was incredible at times, inefficient at others.

The penalties were plentiful. Oh were they plentiful.

Texas roughed a punter. Texas roughed a quarterback. Texas had so many penalties with 12 for 115 hards, it was rough to watch. Edge rusher Colin Simmons had three although one offside call was negated because San Jose State took the yardage gained.

I do think Manning looked a whole lot better and more comfortable. Yes, playing at home against an inferior opponent have a lot to do with that.

He’s got a certifiable star receiver in redshirt freshman Parker Livingstone, who just might be the second coming of Jordan Shipley.

Texas is loaded at tight end. Jack Endries may have been the top find in the transfer portal. He scored two touchdowns in each of his two seasons at Cal and scored two in one quarter Saturday. Behind him are equally promising, younger players.

The offensive line is pass protecting as well as anyone could expect. Manning has had loads of time to throw through two games.

Kirk Bohls, University of Texas Columnist kirk.bohls@houstonchronicle.com

How I voted in this week's rankings

Photo by: Aaron E. Martinez, Austin American-Statesman

My AP Top 25 ballot:

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Miami
4. Florida State
5. Penn State
6. Oregon
7. Georgia
8. Texas
9. Notre Dame
10. Iowa State
11. Oklahoma
12. Illinois
13. Clemson
14. Utah
15. South Carolina
16. Texas A&M
17. TCU
18. Alabama
19. USF
20. Georgia Tech
21. Indiana
22. Tennessee
23. Ole Miss
24. Missouri
25. Texas Tech

Around the Horns

Steve Sarkisian sat two starters, running back Quintrevion Wisner with a leg injury and defensive lineman Alex January with an undisclosed injury, but the head coach said the moves were precautionary to avoid taking any unnecessary risks with a long season ahead. … Wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. limped off with an injury, but it didn’t seem serious.

The Texas basketball team was ranked 24th in the nation by BlueBook Basketball. … Jerritt Elliott’s No. 2-ranked women’s volleyball team topped No. 6 Stanford in five sets Sunday in the first match at Moody Center. The 10,000 game tickets sold out in 24 hours. Elliott’s 4-0 team was coming off wins over No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 12 Creighton and Rice, having dropped just one set in the three matches. Elliott said he’d like to play another marquee game at Moody Center to heighten exposure for the sport, but Texas is only granted 60 days in the 3-year-old building with most of those reserved for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

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