Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons turned a huge sack into a costly flag Saturday night, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear afterward that the Longhorns won’t let that kind of mistake slide.
Simmons was penalized in the first half of No. 1 Texas’ 20-17 win at No.
14 Tennessee after he took down Vols quarterback Faizon Brandon on third down and then pretended to urinate on the field. Officials immediately threw yellow flags, and the referee announced that Simmons had been flagged for “simulating use of the restroom,” which extended Tennessee’s possession.
The play came in the second quarter, after Simmons recorded the second sack in what became a career-best five-sack performance. Even with the penalty, Texas still went on to take a 10-3 lead into halftime.
After the game, Sarkisian said the staff handled it on the sideline.
"We took him out, we addressed it and we put him back in," Sarkisian said after the game. "At that point, you know what I mean, I'm not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
We've got to fix it, though. That can't continue as we move forward."
The broadcast crew was blunt about the moment. Kirk Herbstreit called it “Just an absolute idiotic move by Colin Simmons doing that,” while Chris Fowler added, "yeah, it's idiotic, and it doesn't get much more vulgar, either."
The penalty fits into a broader crackdown this season on unsportsmanlike conduct that targets opposing players. The rules committee modernized how those fouls are interpreted, with taunting always drawing a flag when it’s directed at an opponent and disrupts or delays the game.
At the same time, players are still allowed to celebrate together as long as they don’t cross the line after a big play. The committee identified five “automatic” unsportsmanlike categories: gun violence, including “brandishing” a weapon; throat slash or nose wipe gestures; players removing their helmet; dead-ball contact fouls such as pushing, shoving or striking; and pushing or pulling an opposing player off the pile after the ball is dead.
Now, after Simmons’ move in Knoxville, “simulating using the restroom” is part of that conversation too.
The moment drew an immediate comparison to former Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore, who simulated urinating on a fire hydrant like a dog during the 2019 Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
Texas entered the game as the nation’s top-ranked team after its win over Ohio State two weeks earlier, while Tennessee came in unbeaten and ranked 14th under Josh Heupel. Sarkisian pointed to the challenge his team keeps taking on.
"We're used to this environment. We're used to this arena.
We win big games. We do," Sarkisian said in the aftermath.
Texas still has seven ranked teams left on its schedule, and Sarkisian said he wasn’t interested in apologizing for winning on the road in a top-15 matchup.
"That is why I say I am not going to apologize for winning on the road vs. a top 15 team, when other teams don't even play them," Sarkisian said.
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