Texas’ defense kept rolling after the break against UTSA, even with Colin Simmons sitting out the second half of Saturday’s 30-6 win and leaving a clear opening for the rest of the front to take over. That mattered with the status of the junior edge rusher still uncertain heading into the SEC opener against No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville.
The Roadrunners briefly got a gift when Texas opened the third quarter with an ugly three-and-out. An illegal forward pass by Arch Manning, followed by a face-mask penalty on the ensuing 36-yard punt, handed UTSA the ball at the Texas 35. With the Longhorns leading 20-3, the field was short and the chance to build momentum was real.
It never got there. Kenny Baker and LaAllan Clark’s defensive line made sure UTSA had to settle for a field goal after allowing a 12-yard pass on the first snap of the drive, tied for the second-longest play of the game for Jeff Traylor’s team.
The first key snap came on 1st and 10 at the Texas 23-yard line. UTSA lined up in a 2x2 shotgun look, and Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp sent senior linebacker Justin Cryer on a blitz.
It turned out the pressure didn’t need help. Sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson beat his man quickly off the edge, forced Owen McCown to hurry, and the quarterback ended up with a three-yard completion.
Jackson’s start to the season hadn’t matched the hype. The 6-foot-5, 274-pound defender arrived in Austin as a consensus five-star prospect, ranked No. 21 nationally and the No. 2 edge in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
But he had yet to really put it together through two games, going without a tackle in 32 snaps against Texas State and missing two tackles against Ohio State. Against UTSA, the tackles still weren’t there, but the disruption was.
He produced three pressures, and this one showed how his length can wreck an offensive tackle’s plan. The left tackle had to strike quickly, got stretched too far over his toes, and Jackson swiped through for an easy win.
A play later, Texas got another look at a lineman who simply couldn’t move the Longhorns off their spots. On 2nd and 7 at the Texas 20, UTSA center Luke Lapeze - a 6-foot-5, 320-pound redshirt senior with experience and physical maturity - ran into something even bigger. Texas defensive tackle Ian Geffrard, listed at 6-foot-5 and 375 pounds, used a bull rush to get immediate extension, drove Lapeze back toward McCown, and forced an inaccurate throw with the quarterback having no choice but to get rid of it.
That rep only added to the case that Geffrard is more than a run-stopper. He entered the final non-conference game already flashing more upside, and plays like that should keep NFL scouts paying attention.
Then came another third-down answer. After an illegal substitution penalty on UTSA, the Roadrunners faced 3rd and 12 from the Texas 25, the kind of down and distance that kept showing up all afternoon.
Rather than send the house, Muschamp leaned on line games up front, including twists on both sides of the line. Freshman edge Richard Wesley took on the role Simmons had occupied as a standup linebacker at the second level.
Jackson was again right in the middle of it. He occupied the left tackle, blew up the left guard, and knocked down the center in the same sequence, freeing fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu to come through on the twist and pressure McCown into an incompletion.
In Other News...
Arch Manning Controversy Is About To Test Texas Again
Arch Manning spent part of the week cleaning up a moment that drew attention for the wrong reasons, apologizing after he laughed at an AI-generated spoof video that showed Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe. Manning called his reaction insensitive, and the episode became another reminder of how quickly even a brief sideline reaction can turn into a bigger story around Texas, where every public moment involving the quarterback is under a sharper lens.
Rowe later accepted the apology after the two had a productive private conversation, saying they would move forward with respect, which helped quiet the immediate fallout. Still, there is one more wrinkle before Texas meets Tennessee, because Manning and Sarkisian are expected to sit down with Rowe together in the lead-up to the game, a small but noticeable test of how smoothly everyone can move past a controversy that never should have existed in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Suddenly Has Pressure In A Heisman Race Still Up For Grabs
Trinidad Chambliss made a real move in the Heisman conversation with a strong showing against LSU, the kind of performance that can change the way voters and oddsmakers look at the board this early in the season. He threw for 363 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns, while Miami quarterback Darian Mensah added another eye-catching line to the race by setting an ACC record for consecutive completions.
For Texas fans, the bigger point is that Arch Manning is still very much in the mix, but the runway is getting shorter for everyone as the season settles in. After three weeks, the Heisman picture remains wide open, with Manning joined by Kamario Taylor, Jeremiah Smith and CJ Carr among the names still hanging around a race that has already started to shift. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Gets Encouraging Colin Simmons News Before Tennessee Showdown
Texas first Southeastern Conference availability report of the 2026 season gave the Longhorns a clearer picture heading into their matchup with Tennessee, and the early read is a positive one for one of their top defensive playmakers. EDGE rusher Colin Simmons is listed as probable, an encouraging sign after he exited the UTSA game in a protective walking boot and left some concern about how he would look going into a bigger stage.
The report also shows the kind of attrition that can shape a game like this, with Justus Terry, Xavier Filsaime and Jordan Coleman out and Nick Townsend doubtful. Tennessee, meanwhile, has five players listed as unavailable, so both sides are already dealing with personnel questions before kickoff, but Texas at least appears to have a chance to count on Simmons when the pressure ramps up. [Read more 🡒]