AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning threw for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first career start at Texas, leading a 51-3 win over UL Monroe in relief of injured starter Quinn Ewers to push the No. 1 Longhorns to 4-0.

After throwing an interception on his first possession, Manning settled in, and Texas scored touchdowns on six of his 10 drives for a 44-3 lead when he left the game early in the fourth quarter. The redshirt freshman competed 15 of his 29 pass attempts.

Manning said there were several throws he’d like back, starting with his first interception, a second-down throw under pressure that ULM defensive back Carl Fauntroy snagged three minutes into the game. When asked how he’d grade his performance, Manning said, “Probably a C-plus, but a win’s a win.”

“To think he was going to come out and play a perfect game, I don’t think anybody in here thought that,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I thought he was going to prepare really well, work really hard, do everything he could to play good football. He was gonna have some lessons learned, and I think that’s what tonight was about.”

In the Longhorns’ first game as the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25 since 2008, Manning received plenty of help. Running back Jaydon Blue rushed for 124 yards and scored four total touchdowns, and Texas’ defense held General Booty and the Warhawks (2-1) to 111 total yards on 2.2 yards per play.

Sarkisian said the game plan called for Manning to be aggressive in taking deep shots against ULM’s defense, and the former five-star recruit had some success with eight passes of 15 or more yards, including a 56-yard completion to Isaiah Bond and a 46-yarder to Matthew Golden. Manning connected with 11 receivers on the night.

“Having so many playmakers around you, it definitely brings up the comfort level for me,” he said. “We got a bunch of different receivers catch balls tonight. Just getting them in space and having them make plays is huge.”

Ewers exited Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA last week after suffering an oblique strain. His status is considered day-to-day, and he could potentially return for the Longhorns’ SEC debut against Mississippi State next week. Manning shared SEC Freshman of the Week honors after producing 276 total yards and five touchdowns against UTSA in Ewers’ absence.

After their first SEC conference game at home against Mississippi State, the Longhorns have an idle week followed by showdowns with No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 2 Georgia in consecutive weeks.

A Texas team with national championship ambitions has played up to those expectations through four games, outscoring its opponents 190-22 and flexing its muscles in its toughest test with a 31-12 road win against then-No. 10 Michigan. With the Longhorns winning 16 of their past 18 games, Sarkisian is confident he has a team with talent, depth and maturity that’s built to contend in the SEC.

“I’m pleased with where we’re at, but it’s like everything I just told the team: The mission is far from over,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of great games ahead of us.”

SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox tied the American League record with their 119th loss Saturday night, when Xander Bogaerts and Elias Diaz each hit a two-run homer to help the San Diego Padres to a 6-2 win and move closer to a playoff spot.

The White Sox (36-119) matched the AL mark set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who finished 43-119. One more defeat for Chicago over its final seven games would equal the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets, and two more would set a record. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the overall major league record for losses at 20-134.

Chris Flexen (2-15) remained winless in his past 23 starts for a White Sox club that lost its 20th straight road series. According to ESPN Research, Chicago, which is now 9-48 since the All-Star break, is on pace for 124 losses.

“They’ve been playing some good baseball these last couple of days,” Bogaerts said of Chicago. “Obviously, we want to win every game by a big margin, but these guys are putting up a fight. They’re trying to be spoilers. Nothing’s been given easy to us these last couple of days. It’s been nice to be able to fight for it a little bit more than people would have expected.”

David Peralta also homered for San Diego (89-66), which maintained a two-game lead over Arizona for the top National League wild-card spot.

The Padres reduced their magic number to two for clinching their second playoff berth in three seasons. They received no help from the Atlanta Braves or the New York Mets, both of whom won Saturday.

Bogaerts gave the Padres a 2-0 lead with his shot to left-center field with no outs in the second inning off Flexen. It was Bogaerts’ 11th homer and it came with rookie Jackson Merrill aboard on a leadoff single.

“It’s a good lineup,” Chicago manager Grady Sizemore said of the Padres. “You make mistakes over the plate, and they might hurt you.”

Peralta homered with one out in the third, his eighth. Merrill, considered by some the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, hit an RBI single in the fifth.

Diaz hit a two-run shot in the eighth off former Padres reliever Enyel De Los Santos. It was his sixth of the season.

Lenyn Sosa hit an RBI single in the sixth for the White Sox off Martin Perez (5-5). Bryan Ramos drew a bases-loaded walk from Padres reliever Jason Adam in the eighth.

Perez held Chicago to one run and two hits in 5⅓ innings, struck out six and walked three. And Tanner Scott recorded five outs for his 22nd save.

Flexen gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.

With history awaiting, the White Sox will start right-hander Sean Burke (1-0, 2.25 ERA) on Sunday, opposed by Padres righty Yu Darvish (6-3, 3.21).

“Hits were hard to come by tonight,” Sizemore said. “But we had good at-bats.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mack Brown told ESPN on Saturday he’s not resigning after an emotional locker room scene with his players following North Carolina’s embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison, which is in only its third season as an FBS school.

Brown, a College Football Hall of Famer, said he told the players that it was his fault and would step away if he couldn’t get things fixed. The 70 points were the most ever given up by the Tar Heels, who fell to 3-1.

“I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday,” Brown told ESPN.

Brown, 73, is in his sixth season at North Carolina. He told ESPN he was aware of some reports and that messages in emotional locker rooms can be misconstrued, but was adamant that he’s not stepping down.

Brown has led UNC to winning records in four of his five seasons. The Tar Heels won eight games last season and nine the season before when they finished first in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Brown was at Texas for 16 seasons and won a national championship in 2005 and played for another in 2009. He resigned under pressure following the 2013 season, and after taking a break from coaching, returned in 2019 to North Carolina for his second stint in Chapel Hill. Brown was North Carolina’s coach from 1988 to 1997.

The Tar Heels travel to rival Duke next Saturday.