No. 1 Texas Escapes Knoxville, Survives Late Tennessee Push
For most of Saturday afternoon, Texas looked like the better football team.
By the final snap, the Longhorns were simply happy to get out of Knoxville with a win.
No. 1 Texas survived a furious late push from No. 14 Tennessee, escaping Neyland Stadium with a 20-17 victory to remain undefeated at 4-0 and open SEC play with a win. What once looked like a controlled road victory quickly turned into a fight for survival. (University of Texas Athletics)
Texas wasted little time setting the tone. Arch Manning opened the game completing his first six passes, including a 43-yard connection with Emmett Mosley V that helped set up a nine-yard Raleek Brown touchdown run. The Longhorns carried a 10-3 advantage into halftime behind a defense that allowed Tennessee just 88 first-half yards. (University of Texas Athletics)
But Tennessee wasn’t going quietly.
Qua Moss flipped the momentum early in the third quarter with a 57-yard punt-return touchdown, suddenly tying the game at 10 despite Texas controlling much of the afternoon. The Longhorns responded with a Gianni Spetic field goal before Brown found the end zone for the second time with 5:41 remaining, pushing Texas ahead 20-10. (University of Texas Athletics)
That should have been enough.
It wasn’t.
Freshman Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon engineered an 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, finding Mike Matthews for a 30-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining. The Volunteers then recovered the ensuing onside kick, sending an already deafening Neyland Stadium into a frenzy and giving Tennessee an improbable opportunity to tie or win the game. (Yahoo Sports)
Suddenly, the No. 1 team in the country was hanging on.
Texas’ defense made sure it did.
After terrorizing Tennessee’s offense throughout the afternoon, the Longhorns came through one final time. Brandon’s last-second Hail Mary reached the end zone, but Jelani McDonald knocked the football away as time expired.
Texas escaped, 20-17. (Yahoo Sports)
Colin Simmons Takes Over
If there was one player Texas can thank for leaving Knoxville undefeated, Colin Simmons belongs near the top of the list.
Simmons tied a Texas program record with five sacks, leading a Longhorn defense that finished with 10 sacks — the second-most in a single game in school history. Tennessee managed only 221 total yards after entering the weekend averaging more than 500 yards of offense per game. (University of Texas Athletics)
The defense needed to be that good because Texas’ offense was far from flawless.
Manning completed 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards, but threw an interception and was sacked six times. Texas also committed 11 penalties for 115 yards, repeatedly making life more difficult for itself. (Yahoo Sports)
Still, winning on the road in the SEC rarely comes with style points.
Texas walked into a packed Neyland Stadium as the No. 1 team in America, absorbed Tennessee’s best late punch and found a way to leave 4-0.
But Saturday also served as a warning.
The Longhorns looked dominant defensively, yet penalties, offensive mistakes and special-teams miscues allowed a game they largely controlled to come down to one final ball floating toward the end zone.
Texas survived this time.
With Oklahoma waiting in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10, the Longhorns will have some cleaning up to do before the margin for error becomes even smaller. (University of Texas Athletics)
