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AUSTIN — Missed tackles played a significant role in the Texas Longhorns defense allowing a touchdown prior to halftime and suffering through the Florida Gators running 46 plays for 170 yards and 17 points during 21:51 of possession in the second half of Saturday’s 27-24 upset in Austin.

According to Texas fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu, the Horns missed 19 tackles in the loss, contributing to the Gators averaging 2.98 yards after contact per rush in gaining 134 of their 173 rushing yards after contact (77.5 percent) and 94 of their 155 receiving yards after the catch (60.6 percent), according to Pro Football Focus.

Kanu called the missed tackles the most disappointing aspect of the defense’s performance.

“We can’t allow it. That wasn’t even, let’s say, them [doing] a good job, but us just missing our leverage, leaving our feet, not driving on the tackle, and we’ve just got to fix those,” Kanu said.

In an effort to improve against No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday, Texas defenders spent an extra 10 to 15 minutes working a tackling circuit following Monday’s practice.

“We know what we’ve got to get better at, and it’s going to be fixed,” Kanu said.

The issues started in earnest on Florida’s touchdown drive before halftime.

On the first play of the drive, a jet sweep to wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. out-leveraged the Texas defense, but senior cornerback Bo Mascoe did a nice job of beating his blocker, he just couldn’t get the speedy Singleton to the ground near the line of scrimmage, leading to a gain of eight yards.

After the Gators converted 4th and 12 with a 17-yard reception by wide receiver Dallas Wilson, quarterback Tramell Jones made the Longhorns pay with his legs, breaking a tackle attempt by senior linebacker Rasheem Biles in the backfield and another tackle attempt by junior safety Kobe Black down field to gain 14 yards to the Texas 5-yard line, setting up a seven-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

Out of halftime, Florida mounted a 15-play, 69-yard drive that took 8:03 off the clock, beginning to severely tax the Texas defense.

Several missed tackles contributed to that touchdown drive, but a missed call also loomed large when Kanu was tackled by a Gators offensive lineman as he tried to sack Jones on 2nd and 7 on the fifth play of the drive, allowing a four-yard scramble when the Florida quarterback picked up several yards after contact because junior edge Colin Simmons tried to force a fumble instead of wrapping up.

Facing 3rd and 3, Florida was able to throw a screen pass to wide receiver Bailey Stockton that gained a fresh set of downs when sophomore cornerback Graceson Littleton’s fundamentals let him down — needing to run through Stockton’s outside hip to make the play, a hesitation move caused Littleton to break down, allowing Stockton to stiff arm Littleton on his tackle attempt, ultimately leading to the blown coverage on 3rd and 3 that resulted in Florida’s eight-yard touchdown pass.

After the Longhorns forced a three and out on the next drive by the Gators, Florida went 57 yards on 14 plays over 6:31 to kick a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 20-17 lead.

A missed assignment by Black, who was responsible for covering Florida running back Jaden Baugh out of the backfield on 3rd and 3 near midfield to start the fourth quarter was a big blow on the drive, as Baugh gained 14 yards on the play, tied for the team’s second-longest completion on the day.

Texas had a chance to get off the field on another 3rd and 3, but freshman edge Richard Wesley and sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson both missed tackle attempts on Baugh in the backfield, allowing a first down.

On the next play, Littleton came free off the edge on a play-action pass and had a chance to inflict a major negative play eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, but Jones broke the tackle to run for a three-yard gain.

Florida picked up more extra yardage on a trick play to running back London Montgomery, who spun out of a tackle attempt by McDonald to gain eight yards and a first down.

A good open-field tackle of Singleton by sophomore cornerback Kade Phillips and strong coverage on two incompletions thrown by Jones allowed the Longhorns to finally get off the field in the red zone, but the inability to get Baugh to the ground ensured the Gators could kick a short field goal and forced the defense to spend five more plays on the field while taking close to three minutes off the clock.

The inability to play complementary football hurt the Texas defense on Florida’s next drive, which started inside Longhorns territory after a turnover on downs.

Senior linebacker Justin Cryer lost his leverage on Baugh when the Gator running back ran into an offensive lineman in the backfield before taking the edge for a 13-yard gain. A bad angle by Cryer on the next play led to a nine-yard run with several yards after contact. Tasked with scrape exchanging on a zone read by Jones, Cryer had his eyes wrong and was late to react, allowing a nine-yard gain from the high red zone and setting up Baugh’s 11-yard touchdown run when Black lost leverage running the alley and Baugh took advantage, taking the edge and scoring.

Missed tackles weren’t really an issue on that drive, but spending so much time on the field in the second half might have contributed to some of the mental breakdowns as the Gators took a 10-point lead.

A fumbled snap by Jones on first down put Florida behind the chains on its next drive, another three and out, but the tackling issues resurfaced following quarterback Arch Manning’s fumble as the Gators were able to pick up the first down necessary to finish the game in victory formation.

Baugh started the drive by squeezing through the pile to gain two yards after contact, picked up another yard after contact on second down, then Jones kept a zone read, running behind a missed holding call against Texas senior edge Brad Spence before making McDonald look bad in the open field on a nine-yard gain that sealed the victory.

The missed tackles weren’t the only problem for Texas defensively as Florida scored 24 points on its final seven drives, including too many easy-access throws and breakdowns in fundamentals, but the inability to get Gators to the ground was a huge factor in the loss.

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AUSTIN — Missed tackles played a significant role in the Texas Longhorns defense allowing a touchdown prior to halftime and suffering through the Florida Gators running 46 plays for 170 yards and 17 points during 21:51 of possession in the second half of Saturday’s 27-24 upset in Austin.

According to Texas fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu, the Horns missed 19 tackles in the loss, contributing to the Gators averaging 2.98 yards after contact per rush in gaining 134 of their 173 rushing yards after contact (77.5 percent) and 94 of their 155 receiving yards after the catch (60.6 percent), according to Pro Football Focus.

Kanu called the missed tackles the most disappointing aspect of the defense’s performance.

“We can’t allow it. That wasn’t even, let’s say, them [doing] a good job, but us just missing our leverage, leaving our feet, not driving on the tackle, and we’ve just got to fix those,” Kanu said.

In an effort to improve against No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday, Texas defenders spent an extra 10 to 15 minutes working a tackling circuit following Monday’s practice.

“We know what we’ve got to get better at, and it’s going to be fixed,” Kanu said.

The issues started in earnest on Florida’s touchdown drive before halftime.

On the first play of the drive, a jet sweep to wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. out-leveraged the Texas defense, but senior cornerback Bo Mascoe did a nice job of beating his blocker, he just couldn’t get the speedy Singleton to the ground near the line of scrimmage, leading to a gain of eight yards.

After the Gators converted 4th and 12 with a 17-yard reception by wide receiver Dallas Wilson, quarterback Tramell Jones made the Longhorns pay with his legs, breaking a tackle attempt by senior linebacker Rasheem Biles in the backfield and another tackle attempt by junior safety Kobe Black down field to gain 14 yards to the Texas 5-yard line, setting up a seven-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

Out of halftime, Florida mounted a 15-play, 69-yard drive that took 8:03 off the clock, beginning to severely tax the Texas defense.

Several missed tackles contributed to that touchdown drive, but a missed call also loomed large when Kanu was tackled by a Gators offensive lineman as he tried to sack Jones on 2nd and 7 on the fifth play of the drive, allowing a four-yard scramble when the Florida quarterback picked up several yards after contact because junior edge Colin Simmons tried to force a fumble instead of wrapping up.

Facing 3rd and 3, Florida was able to throw a screen pass to wide receiver Bailey Stockton that gained a fresh set of downs when sophomore cornerback Graceson Littleton’s fundamentals let him down — needing to run through Stockton’s outside hip to make the play, a hesitation move caused Littleton to break down, allowing Stockton to stiff arm Littleton on his tackle attempt, ultimately leading to the blown coverage on 3rd and 3 that resulted in Florida’s eight-yard touchdown pass.

After the Longhorns forced a three and out on the next drive by the Gators, Florida went 57 yards on 14 plays over 6:31 to kick a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 20-17 lead.

A missed assignment by Black, who was responsible for covering Florida running back Jaden Baugh out of the backfield on 3rd and 3 near midfield to start the fourth quarter was a big blow on the drive, as Baugh gained 14 yards on the play, tied for the team’s second-longest completion on the day.

Texas had a chance to get off the field on another 3rd and 3, but freshman edge Richard Wesley and sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson both missed tackle attempts on Baugh in the backfield, allowing a first down.

On the next play, Littleton came free off the edge on a play-action pass and had a chance to inflict a major negative play eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, but Jones broke the tackle to run for a three-yard gain.

Florida picked up more extra yardage on a trick play to running back London Montgomery, who spun out of a tackle attempt by McDonald to gain eight yards and a first down.

A good open-field tackle of Singleton by sophomore cornerback Kade Phillips and strong coverage on two incompletions thrown by Jones allowed the Longhorns to finally get off the field in the red zone, but the inability to get Baugh to the ground ensured the Gators could kick a short field goal and forced the defense to spend five more plays on the field while taking close to three minutes off the clock.

The inability to play complementary football hurt the Texas defense on Florida’s next drive, which started inside Longhorns territory after a turnover on downs.

Senior linebacker Justin Cryer lost his leverage on Baugh when the Gator running back ran into an offensive lineman in the backfield before taking the edge for a 13-yard gain. A bad angle by Cryer on the next play led to a nine-yard run with several yards after contact. Tasked with scrape exchanging on a zone read by Jones, Cryer had his eyes wrong and was late to react, allowing a nine-yard gain from the high red zone and setting up Baugh’s 11-yard touchdown run when Black lost leverage running the alley and Baugh took advantage, taking the edge and scoring.

Missed tackles weren’t really an issue on that drive, but spending so much time on the field in the second half might have contributed to some of the mental breakdowns as the Gators took a 10-point lead.

A fumbled snap by Jones on first down put Florida behind the chains on its next drive, another three and out, but the tackling issues resurfaced following quarterback Arch Manning’s fumble as the Gators were able to pick up the first down necessary to finish the game in victory formation.

Baugh started the drive by squeezing through the pile to gain two yards after contact, picked up another yard after contact on second down, then Jones kept a zone read, running behind a missed holding call against Texas senior edge Brad Spence before making McDonald look bad in the open field on a nine-yard gain that sealed the victory.

The missed tackles weren’t the only problem for Texas defensively as Florida scored 24 points on its final seven drives, including too many easy-access throws and breakdowns in fundamentals, but the inability to get Gators to the ground was a huge factor in the loss.

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