Texas’ defense had to get inventive on Saturday, and Will Muschamp’s plan paid off.
Without Colin Simmons, who the source describes as arguably the best defender in college football, the Longhorns still held the then-No. 7 Mississippi Rebels to 27 points in a win that snapped Texas out of its two-game skid against unranked opponents. That matters even more when you consider what was sitting across from them: the country’s ninth-best scoring offense, running a dangerous Veer-and-Shoot attack with Heisman-hopeful quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
The answer started up front. Muschamp shuffled his defensive line after losing Simmons, with Brad Spence, Colton Vasek, Lance Jackson and Justus Terry taking on most of the edge work. That pushed Zina Umeozulu and Alex January into some of the defensive-end responsibilities, and Texas leaned into three-down looks for about half of its snaps while also mixing in odd fronts.
That gave the Longhorns a way to handle Ole Miss’ spacing game. A three-down front let Muschamp spread bodies around and take away fast perimeter throws and outside runs. The odd fronts helped clog the run game and keep Texas from getting stretched thin, even if it came at the cost of some pass rush.
When the front wasn’t creating enough heat on its own, Muschamp turned up the pressure another way. Rasheem Biles was unleashed as a blitzer, and the former two-time All-ACC linebacker was sent after Chambliss 13 times, blowing past his previous season high of seven.
Texas still pressured Chambliss on only 21.8% of his drop-backs, but Biles helped speed up the quarterback’s clock. He finished with four tackles, three run-stops and an interception.
Justin Cryer made a similar impact from a different spot. The transfer linebacker spent 24% of his snaps in the slot, up from just 13% before Saturday.
That alignment helped Texas match quick passes, wall off the edge and keep Cryer involved as a blitzer. He ended with five tackles, a batted pass and an interception.
Biles and Cryer were on the field for all 85 snaps, giving Muschamp the flexibility he needed while working without Simmons.
The final wrinkle came in the secondary. Muschamp used three safeties, with nickelback Graceson Littleton frequently rotating back alongside Derek Williams and Jelani McDonald. That setup gave Texas a deep-middle player to help the run defense while also guarding against Ole Miss’ vertical shots.
Williams, Littleton and McDonald each played at least 84 snaps, and the trio finished with the top three tackle totals for Texas. Together, they accounted for 28 of the Longhorns’ 70 tackles. McDonald also sealed the game with an interception.
Ole Miss’ offense is built to stretch a defense every which way, attacking the middle with the run, the edges with quick hitters and the deep field with vertical throws. Texas answered by stuffing the middle with odd fronts, protecting the perimeter with Cryer and locking down the back end with three safeties.
That kind of reconstruction says plenty about why Texas hired Muschamp in the offseason. And if he keeps adjusting like this, the Longhorns should be able to manage until Simmons returns in two or three weeks.
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Raleek Browns 157 rushing yards gave Texas the kind of ground production it needed in a tight SEC-style game, while Michael Terry added 41 yards and a touchdown to keep the pressure on Ole Miss. Even with the win, the Longhorns now have to figure out how much of this offensive success can travel forward if Goosby is out for good and Cojoe remains the answer on the edge. [Read more 🡒]