In most cases, 16 plus one equals 17.
Texas football, though, does not play its games within the Physics, Math and Astronomy Building on the UT campus. So for the Longhorns, 16 plus one could equal 60. That was the case three weeks ago when quarterback Arch Manning, who wears No. 16, completed a 60-yard pass to Ryan Wingo, who wears No. 1, on UT’s first offensive snap at Mississippi State. One week later, Wingo scored on the first play of Texas’ home game against Vanderbilt, so 16 plus one equaled 75 in that case.
Article continues below this ad
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) runs the ball for a touchdown during the game against Vanderbilt at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
The Vanderbilt game was Steve Sarkisian’s 64th as Texas’ head coach and primary offensive play-caller. Sarkisian and the Longhorns entered those 64 games with offensive scripts that called for 47 first-play passes and 17 first-play runs. Texas is averaging 8.6 yards on its first offensive plays under Sarkisian, and Wingo’s catches over the last two games have accounted for two of the three longest first-play gains:
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) celebrates a touchdown with a teammate in the third quarter of the Texas Longhorns’ game against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 20, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
• WR Xavier Worthy’s 75-yard TD catch vs. Oklahoma in Dallas (2021)
Article continues below this ad
• Wingo’s 75-yard TD catch Nov. 1 vs. Vanderbilt at Royal-Memorial Stadium
NO 10 TEXAS AT NO. 5 GEORGIA
When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Ga.
TV/radio: ABC; 1300 AM, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM (Spanish)
• Wingo’s 60-yard catch Oct. 25 at Mississippi State
• WR Matthew Golden’s 54-yard catch vs. Arizona State in the CFP quarterfinals (2025)
Article continues below this ad
• Worthy’s 24-yard catch vs. Kansas State at DKR (2023)
• RB Bijan Robinson’s 22-yard catch at Texas Tech (2022)
• Golden’s 22-yard catch vs. Mississippi State at DKR (2024)
MORE: Sign up for the Statesman’s daily Texas sports newsletter
Article continues below this ad
Wingo’s first-play strikes against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt helped lead Texas to wins and kept the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff conversation as well as the Southeastern Conference championship race. No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1) will attempt to extend its winning streak to five games Saturday at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1).
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) stands in the end zone to celebrate a touchdown in the third quarter of the Texas Longhorns’ game against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 20, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Ryan Wingo provides Texas Longhorns with a spark on offense
The Texas-Mississippi State game in Starkville featured 873 yards of offense, 83 points and an overtime session, but the first highlight was provided by Wingo.Â
Article continues below this ad
After Mississippi State opened the game with one of the afternoon’s few listless possessions, Texas sent Wingo in motion behind Manning and the receiver caught a quick pass, slipped away from three defenders and was tackled just short of the end zone, at the 3-yard line. That set up a short touchdown run by Manning.
One week later during a 34-31 win over Vanderbilt at DKR, Wingo again motioned to the right of Manning on UT’s first snap and again snagged a quick pass. A couple of Vanderbilt defenders had a shot at Wingo, but he avoided those tackles and sprinted into the end zone.
“I think it shows how dynamic Ryan is when he gets the ball,” Manning said this week. “Got to continue to get him the ball and start fast like that.”
MORE: Three reasons this Texas-Georgia matchup will be different from last year’s games
Article continues below this ad
A four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle, the 6-foot-2, 214-pound Wingo finished the Mississippi State game with 184 receiving yards. That’s the ninth-best effort in school history. He then turned two catches into 89 yards against Vanderbilt. Wingo leads the team with his 31 receptions, and his yards-per-catch average of 19.13 yards is edging South Carolina’s Nyck Harbor (19.10) atop the SEC leaders.Â
Sarkisian recently noted that Wingo “is unique is, yes, he’s got speed, but he’s got size, and he’s running through tacklers now, as opposed to breaking down and trying to make them miss.” Fellow receiver Parker Livingstone analyzed this week that “he breaks a lot of tackles. So I think that’s something I can work on. No one can get him on the ground.”
“He’s a great player,” Livingstone said. “I love watching him. I love playing with him. So it’s been great to see him explode out there on those deep runs.”
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart talks to his players during a timeout against the Texas Longhorns in the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday October 19, 2024.
Jay Janner/American-Statesman
Can Texas get off to another fast start against Georgia?
Will Texas call Wingo’s number whenever its offense first takes the field Saturday? That remains to be seen. The receiver will be an option, though. Wingo had his day against Vanderbilt cut short by a thumb injury, but the Longhorns enter this weekend with no names on their SEC-mandated availability report.
Article continues below this ad
Wingo and the Longhorns will attempt to get off to a better start against Georgia in Athens than they did in two games against the Bulldogs last year. During a 30-15 loss in Austin, Texas didn’t score until the third quarter. The Longhorns then just kicked two field goals over the first three quarters of an overtime setback in the SEC championship game.
MORE: Five things to know about SEC powerhouse Georgia
If Texas gets off to a good start, the Longhorns won’t have the luxury of getting comfortable. First off, UT nearly blew a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter of the Vanderbilt game. Georgia has also been resilient all season and is 6-1 in conference play despite trailing in six of its SEC games. After the Bulldogs fell behind behind by nine points in the second half of its home game Oct. 18 against Ole Miss but wound up with a 43-35 victory, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his team was “hard to kill.”
Article continues below this ad
“I think that they’ve got a culture in place. They’ve won a lot of games for a long time, and they’ve won a lot of games when they’ve come back,” Sarkisian said. “I think one thing that happens is when you come back in a game at Tennessee when you’re dead and gone and you come back and win in overtime, when you come back in a game against Ole Miss when you couldn’t stop them and then you find a way to get a couple stops in the fourth quarter, when you come back in a game against Alabama, even though they didn’t win, it’s like they believe that they can come back. I think sometimes you have to get in those positions to find out if that’s truly who we are. No different than us (after falling behind 38-21 at Mississippi State).”
Added Sarkisian: “I think Georgia believes that it doesn’t matter what the score is or how much time is left on the clock, they’ve got a chance, and they’re not going to go away.”