Texas escaped Tennessee with a win, but the box score told a much messier story than the final result.
The Longhorns came away with a 4-0 record after beating the No. 14 Volunteers, yet the kind of performance they turned in left plenty to clean up before Oklahoma arrives in the Red River Rivalry in two weeks. Texas had impact plays on both sides of the ball, but it also dragged along the same problems that have already shown up this season.
One of the clearest bright spots came in the backfield. With Hollywood Smothers listed as available but never taking a snap, Raleek Brown carried the load at running back and made the most of the opportunity.
He opened the scoring with Texas’s first touchdown in the first quarter, then finished things off with another rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. The Longhorns did not exactly light up the ground game as a whole, finishing with fewer than 100 rushing yards, but Brown delivered when his number was called.
Texas also got a huge night from its pass rush. Colin Simmons and Lance Jackson spent most of the game making life miserable for Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon, and the Longhorns’ defense piled up 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Simmons tied the Texas program record for sacks in a single game with five QB takedowns, while Jackson added four total tackles, including two solo stops, and looked every bit like Simmons’ partner in crime off the edge.
Still, the penalties nearly swallowed Texas whole. The Horns were flagged 11 times for 115 yards, repeatedly handing Tennessee chances to stay alive deep into the fourth quarter.
The worst of it came from Simmons, who sacked Brandon and then "simulated he was using the restroom," as the official put it. The play drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, erased the sack, and gave Tennessee a first down instead.
That kind of sloppiness has become a problem. Texas showed the same lack of discipline, maturity, and composure against UTSA last week, and it showed up again here in a game the Longhorns should have controlled more cleanly.
Arch Manning’s night fit the same theme. Texas did not give him a lot of help from the run game on most drives, and the protection was not as steady as it had been through the first three games, but Manning still never found his best rhythm.
He held the ball too long under pressure, was flagged twice for illegal downfield throws, struggled to work through his progressions, and threw an interception into double coverage. He was also sacked six times and lost a yard on the ground despite trying to use his legs at times.
"It's not about me, I didn't play very well," Manning said after the game.
Texas got the win, and that matters. But if the Longhorns keep stacking up penalties and offensive mistakes like this, the rest of their SEC schedule will be far less forgiving.
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The pass rush was the difference, and it was relentless enough to tilt the entire game. Texas piled up 10 sacks, with Colin Simmons tying a school record by getting to the quarterback five times, a performance that masked plenty of offensive frustration elsewhere on the field. For a team still unbeaten, the bigger concern may be how much it had to lean on its defense to escape a game that stayed tense until the very end. [Read more 🡒]