Texas spent the weekend off, but the Longhorns still got a useful look at what’s coming next on the schedule.
With several future opponents in action Saturday, the picture around Texas’ SEC slate shifted in a hurry. Florida took the biggest hit, Texas A&M snapped out of a skid with a convincing win, LSU kept cruising, and Mississippi State got hit hard by Alabama. The message for Texas was clear: the road ahead is already changing.
Florida’s trip to Missouri was the headline result. The Gators were ranked No. 8 and sitting at 4-0 after beating Ole Miss convincingly, but Missouri turned that into a 45-17 blowout. The Tigers piled up 560 yards of offense, and Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards in the win.
That matters for Texas because Florida comes to Austin on Oct. 17.
The Gators are still a dangerous opponent, but Saturday also showed where the cracks are. Texas now has another game to study, and a better sense of where Florida can be attacked.
Missouri, on the other hand, just made itself a lot more interesting. The Tigers are 4-1, and now they’ve got a statement win over a previously undefeated top-10 team on the résumé.
Texas will travel to Missouri on Nov. 7.
Texas A&M also came out of the weekend with a much better look. After back-to-back losses to Kentucky and LSU, the Aggies answered by pounding Arkansas 34-7. They controlled the line of scrimmage, ran for 231 yards and held Arkansas to 214 total yards.
That result carries weight for Texas because the Aggies are still on the schedule for the regular-season finale on Nov. 27. They may have fallen out of the rankings after losing to LSU, but Saturday suggested they’re not fading away.
LSU kept rolling too. The Tigers handled McNeese 63-14 and moved to 4-1 after splitting their first two SEC games.
Texas heads to Baton Rouge on Nov. 14.
Mississippi State took the harshest swing of all. The Bulldogs came in at 4-0, but Alabama beat them 56-23 and took control with an offense that simply overwhelmed them.
Texas hosts Mississippi State on Oct. 31.
Texas remains undefeated and still controls its own path. But the bye week did more than give the Longhorns a breather.
It gave them a moving target. Florida looks less intimidating.
Missouri looks more dangerous. Texas A&M found its footing again.
LSU is still a major problem. And the schedule, week by week, is getting harder to pin down.
In Other News...
Hero Kanu Sends Clear Message On Colin Simmons Controversy
The postgame conversation around Colin Simmons did not linger long inside the Texas locker room, at least not if Hero Kanu had anything to say about it. The Longhorns defensive lineman stepped up to defend his teammate after a controversial celebration against Tennessee, framing it as a split-second mistake in the heat of competition rather than anything deeper about who Simmons is away from the field.
Kanus response fit with the broader tone from the program, where Steve Sarkisian has made it clear he would rather see celebrations shared by the whole team than spotlighting one player. For Texas, it is a small but telling reminder of how quickly a moment can become a talking point, and how important it is for teammates to close ranks when the noise starts building around one of their own. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Bye Week Has To Fix One Growing Offensive Concern
Texas heads into the bye week undefeated and sitting at No. 1, but the narrow escape at Tennessee also left a clear reminder that the offense still has room to grow. The Longhorns have won enough to keep climbing, yet they have not consistently stretched defenses the way Steve Sarkisians best attacks usually do, with explosive plays showing up too rarely and big completions or runs hard to find.
Sarkisian now gets a break in the schedule to clean up that side of the ball, and the focus is on execution rather than trimming the playbook to compensate. For a team with championship expectations, the challenge in the next stretch is obvious: keep the wins coming while making the offense more dangerous when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Defense Could Expose Oklahoma Where It Hurts Most
Texas heads into the rivalry game with a defense that has earned the right to believe it can make life difficult for Oklahoma in several places at once. The Sooners have had trouble generating steady pressure on the quarterback, their run defense has been uneven, and their offense has not found much rhythm on the ground, which gives the Longhorns a chance to dictate the game with toughness and field position.
The bigger concern for Oklahoma is how often its offense has put itself in precarious spots, especially with John Mateer at the controls. Turnovers have been a recurring issue, and if Texas can keep forcing hurried decisions while also taking away the Sooners already limited rushing answers, the game could tilt quickly toward the Longhorns in a matchup where hidden mistakes tend to matter just as much as headline plays. [Read more 🡒]