Why 1 yellow flag on Colin Simmons could be a red flag for Texas' tough defense | Golden
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The defense will lead them.
The offense? Well, for No. 1 Texas football, it's complicated.
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No. 14 Tennessee didn't go down without a fight Saturday, but in the end, the Vols went down.
Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons committed maybe the most-watched unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in college football history, but more than made up for it by channeling pass rushing that was reminiscent of Longhorns greats like Kiki DeAyala, Tony Brackens and, most recently, Pflugerville ISD school board member Alex Okafor en route to a nail-biting 20-17 win in their SEC opener at Neyland Stadium.
Simmons finished with five of Texas' 10 sacks for Will Muschamp's money defense that came within 67 seconds of extending its streak of quarters not allowing a touchdown to 10.
It wasn't over until safety Jelani McDonald batted away Faizon Brandon's Hail Mary attempt on the last play of the game. As Bud Lite beer cans came flying into the north end zone of Neyland, the top-ranked Horns celebrated their first 4-0 start since the 2024 team that opened 6-0 before losing to Georgia.
The Horns couldn't get going offensively. Arch Manning completed 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards and an interception and was under heavy fire the entire game from a Tennessee defense that produced six sacks. Kyle Flood's offensive line opened the floodgates and the Vols kept coming in swarms. Somehow, the Horns persevered.
Teammates celebrate with Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown (0) after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Texas' 20-17 win over Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sept. 26, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)Manning was whistled for an illegal forward pass twice in the first half, but Simmons really crossed the line when he committed the most egregious penalty since, maybe forever, when he celebrated a sack of Brandon by simulating a bathroom act on the Neyland Stadium grass right in front of the refs.
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That selfish act turned what would have been a fourth down from the Tennessee 12-yard line into a first down. The Volunteers reeled off three consecutive double-digit yardage plays, but cornerback Graceson Littleton saved Simmons' bacon with a pass breakup in the end zone on a fourth down, preserving a 10-3 halftime lead.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian in the second quarter of Texas' game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sept. 26, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)The Horns will play better teams than Tennessee, but it's unnecessary acts like the one Simmons committed - he was a pregame captain no less - that could cost them. And it's not like the Horns don't already have penalty issues. They were whistled four times for 40 yards in the first quarter alone.
"It can't happen," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "It can't happen in a game like this."
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The bye week can't come soon enough for a banged up offense that produced only 61 yards rushing on 1.7 attempts.
The Longhorns are off next week before taking aim at the Oklahoma Sooners, who have had a rocky start under embattled coach Brent Venables. The Sooners entered Saturday's matchup against No. 2 Georgia as the league's worst offense and will arrive in Dallas on the business end of a two-game losing streak to the Longhorns with a touchdown drought that extends back to 2023. Texas, coming off a 34-3 win in 2024 and a 23-6 win last year, will roll into the Metroplex as a huge favorite, but one never knows in a rivalry.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.This article originally published at Why 1 yellow flag on Colin Simmons could be a red flag for Texas' tough defense | Golden.