Texas’ slide reached another jarring stop Saturday, when unranked Florida walked into Austin and left with a 27-24 upset that deepened the Longhorns’ early-season stumble.
The No. 7 Longhorns fell to 1-2 in SEC play and 4-2 overall, marking back-to-back losses after they had climbed to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 last month behind a comeback win over Ohio State. This one got away after Texas built an early 17-3 lead, only to watch Florida claw all the way back and finish the job.
Arch Manning was part of Texas’ bright start, but he couldn’t drag the Longhorns out of the hole once the Gators seized control in the fourth quarter. Manning finished 14 of 20 for 173 yards and threw a late touchdown to Cam Coleman, but Texas never found enough offense to recover and was held under 300 total yards. He dropped to 0-2 in his career against Florida, matching the note that his uncle Peyton went 0-3 against the Gators during his Tennessee career.
“Extremely disappointed,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We didn’t play very good football today outside of about the first quarter.
Kinda bled out. They ended up controlling the ball in the second half.
Our inability to be effective on first down and also our inability to convert in short-yardage situations, third and short, fourth and short, really was the snapshot of it all.
“Very disappointed. We’ll work and get back.
We’ve got a better team than we are right now. It’s my job to get us to play closer to and ultimately to our potential.
Florida’s comeback was powered by a third-down surge after a brutal opening stretch. The Gators started 0 for 7 on third down, then ripped off five straight conversions, capped by the touchdown that pulled them even at 17 with 6:50 left in the third quarter. From there, Florida kept the pressure on with a 28-yard field goal from Patrick Durkin and an 11-yard rushing touchdown by Jadan Baugh.
The win snapped a two-game skid for Florida, which had opened 4-0 and reached No. 8 in the rankings before running into trouble. Now the Gators are 3-2 in SEC play and 5-2 overall, with two victories over top-10 opponents after beating Ole Miss last month.
“We played about as awful as we could in the first quarter, and we kept fighting,” Florida coach Jon Sumrall said. “We didn’t do that the last couple of weeks.
When things got tough, we flinched the last couple of weeks. Our team grew today because we fought.”
Florida quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. made his first career start after replacing injured Aaron Philo and delivered two touchdown passes to Lacota Dippre. Jones summed up the finish simply: “Started out a little slow, offense picked it up, and that’s how you finish a football game.”
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Floridas quarterback situation is suddenly a major subplot for the Longhorns, with Aaron Philo trending toward sitting out the upcoming game because of a shoulder injury. If he cannot go, Texas would be preparing for a different look entirely, with sophomore Tramell Jones lined up to make his first career start in a game that already carries plenty of weight for both teams.
Jones was a four-star recruit and has flashed efficiency in limited action this season, enough to draw praise from head coach Jon Sumrall as a potential starting quarterback. For Texas, that means the film and the plan may need a late adjustment, because the offense coming to Austin could be shaped as much by inexperience as by the usual Florida personnel. [Read more 🡒]
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Simmons was taken off the field for further examination, and Texas felt the effect almost right away as Florida moved ahead on a field goal while he was out. For a defense built around his disruption, the bigger concern now is how much time the Longhorns may have to manage without the player who had been driving their pass rush all game. [Read more 🡒]
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Simmons has been central to everything Texas wants to do up front, giving the Longhorns the kind of edge pressure that can change a game in a hurry. Any absence would put extra pressure on a defense that leans on him to disrupt opposing quarterbacks, and it adds another layer of urgency as Texas waits to learn more about the extent of the injury. [Read more 🡒]