No. 1 Texas walked out of Knoxville with a 20-17 win Saturday afternoon, but Tennessee made the Longhorns earn every inch of it.
In front of a Checker Neyland crowd of 101,915 - with United States President Donald J. Trump among those watching - the Volunteers kept clawing back.
They forced Texas into a late finish, recovered an onside kick and had one final shot to pull off the upset. But a deep ball from freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon into the end zone was broken up on the game’s final play, and the Longhorns escaped to move to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.
Tennessee finished 3-1 and 0-1 in league play, but the defensive performance was the kind that keeps a team in a game against a top-ranked opponent. The Vols held Texas to 61 rushing yards, piled up 10 tackles for loss, six sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Senior linebacker Arion Carter led the way with 11 tackles, plus a hurry and a tackle behind the line. Senior defensive end Tyree Weathersby added six stops and 2.5 sacks, while senior linebacker Amare Campbell, junior defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam and sophomore defensive end Mariyon Dye each recorded sacks.
Sophomore defensive tackle Isaiah Campbell was credited with a half sack.
Texas struck first on its opening possession, going 75 yards in seven plays and finishing with a nine-yard touchdown run from Raleek Brown for a 7-0 lead with 10:58 left in the first quarter. Tennessee answered with a 33-yard field goal from junior Cooper Ranvier at 7:40, trimming the margin to 7-3.
The Longhorns added another field goal early in the second quarter, as Gianni Spetic connected from 22 yards out to make it 10-3 with 14:29 remaining. Neither team scored again before halftime, leaving Texas with that seven-point cushion at the break.
Tennessee finally found the end zone early in the third quarter through special teams. Punt returner Qua Moss fielded a Mac Chiumento punt and took it 57 yards for a touchdown, and Ranvier’s extra point tied the game at 10 with 11:14 left. It was Moss’s first career touchdown, and he also finished with five tackles and a pass break-up.
Texas answered before the quarter ended. After driving to the Tennessee 22, the Longhorns settled for a 44-yard Spetic field goal with 9:05 left in the third, reclaiming a 13-10 lead heading into the fourth.
The Longhorns stretched that advantage to 20-10 on Brown’s four-yard touchdown run with 5:41 remaining. Tennessee still had one more surge in it. Brandon, who finished 17 of 29 for 145 yards with no turnovers, hit Mike Matthews on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 left to pull the Vols within three.
That set up Tennessee’s final chance. The Vols recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Texas 49, giving themselves one more possession with time left. But the comeback stopped there, as the last pass into the end zone was knocked away and Texas held on.
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Texas 20-17 win over Tennessee already had enough edge to linger, but Steve Sarkisian added a fresh layer afterward by pointing to the number of Vols who were injured during the game. In framing that as evidence of his own teams toughness, the Texas coach turned a hard-fought game into a talking point that went beyond the scoreboard and straight into the mood of a Tennessee fan base still stewing over the loss.
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Staley and Matthews also showed support for Tennessees young quarterback, who was working through a difficult environment against a Texas defense that made every mistake feel bigger. For the Volunteers, the message was less about assigning blame and more about getting back to the details that keep an offense on schedule when the margin for error disappears. [Read more 🡒]