Texas defense, Tennessee offensive line lead winners, losers from SEC showdown
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The battle of the UTs went to the younger institution, with Steve Sarkisian’s No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns scoring on the game’s opening possession and leading the rest of the way.
Final score: Texas 20, Tennessee 17.
As the Horns vanquished their SEC road demons, they also showed capable of winning with more marginal quarterback play from Arch Manning and absolutely elite defensive work.
Despite a sold-out Neyland Stadium crowd of 101,915 that packed into the venue so early that beer stands were dried out by the second quarter, Tennessee faltered with its freshman quarterback showing flashes of brilliance but too much inexperience behind a woefully underperforming offensive line.
Tennessee’s defense kept the home team within striking distance, and Brandon’s talent lends optimism for the future.
But the Horns now own a home win against then-No. 1 Ohio State and this roadie against previously unbeaten, No. 13 Tennessee.
Winners
Will Muschamp
In his Texas two-step return as Longhorns defensive coordinator, Muschamp’s defensive unit – not Sarkisian’s alleged offensive mastery – has proved decisive in the 4-0 start to the 2026 season.
Muschamp’s ferocious, attacking defense thwarted Tennessee repeatedly and stretched its streak of not allowing a touchdown through nine quarters and 14 minutes of a 10th frame before the Vols got a late-game, desperation touchdown.
Tennessee was limited to just 221 total yards – 85 of which came in the game’s final three minutes.
Moreover, Texas abused Tennessee to the tune of 12 tackles for losses, 10 of them sacks.
Raleek Brown
Sarkisian had professed that tailback Hollywood Smothers, Texas’s prized signing from the transfer portal out of North Carolina State, would be available in this game.
And Smothers was fully dressed on the Longhorns sideline.
He never played.
In his stead, Raleek Brown paced the Texas ground attack. He scored his team's two touchdowns – the first on the opening drive and another in the fourth quarter with what proved to be the game-winner.
Brown only finished with 67 rushing yards and 75 yards’ total offense, but his 19 touches lifted the Longhorns on another mediocre day for Manning.
Faizon Brandon
Having only turned 18 in June, Brandon was made to look like a barely-out-of-high-school quarterback facing arguably college football’s best defense – a Texas unit littered with NFL prospects.
But Brandon did not turn over the ball, and more of the 10 sacks Tennessee absorbed on this day were on the Vols’ offensive line (more to come on that) than they were on Brandon.
Certainly, he missed some open receivers and at times held the ball too long or left the pocket early.
What he did not do? Make a crucial error that cost Tennessee a shot at the upset.
Brandon fired a 30-yard touchdown strike late to Mike Matthews that cut Tennessee's deficit to three in the final two minutes.
The Vols then recovered an expertly executed onside kick before their final possession fizzled amidst 10-second clock run-offs and a batted-away desperation heave into the end zone.
Still, Brandon has yet to throw an interception this season – despite going on the road to Georgia Tech and facing the nation’s top-ranked team.
Losers
Texas discipline
Forget for a moment that Texas won this game. Acknowledge that if the Longhorns played with a thread of discipline this game would not have been decided in the final half of the fourth quarter.
Arch Manning was twice was flagged for illegal forward passes after he coasted past the line of scrimmage and then tried to toss it to pass-catchers. He also took a delay of game penalty that prompted ABC’s Kirk Herbstreit to remark, “No awareness there from Arch Manning.”
Then, let’s discuss Texas star edge Colin Simmons. He had eight tackles, five of them sacks for a Texas program record. Simmons also had a second-quarter sack in which he dumped Faizon Brandon deep in Tennessee’s own side of the field.
What happened next? Simmons simulated unzipping his trousers and urinating on the field. It was absurd, and it was flagged.
Without doubt, Texas was the better, deeper, more physical team. It also was flagrantly undisciplined as the Horns finished with 11 penalties for 115 yards.
Tennessee offensive line
This offensive front has been widely hailed as the best of Josh Heupel’s six seasons on Rocky Top.
But it got flat-out owned by the Texas defense, especially when Texas deployed its four- and five-man fronts.
Brandon at times held the ball too long, but Tennessee’s offensive line has been a sticking point under Heupel and offensive line coach Glen Elarbee.
The unit was pulverized to the tune of allowing a dozen tackles for losses, 10 of them quarterback sacks.
That doesn’t include all the pressures that Brandon managed to escape, nor does it tabulate the crucial holding penalties – including a super-debilitating yellow flag on the ill-fated final possession.
Tennessee showed strong defense, elite special teams work and plenty about Brandon to be encouraged.
It equally showed that Elarbee’s offensive line could be the unit that wholly thwarts the top-end potential of this Tennessee team in 2026.
Tennessee defense
Jim Knowles, last seen against Steve Sarkisian in the semifinals of the 2024 College Football Playoff when Ohio State defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, again deployed a unit good enough to win.
Two years ago, Knowles helped deliver Ohio State’s only national title under current coach Ryan Day. And it was Knowles’s Buckeyes unit that sealed that semifinals win against Texas with a defensive score.
On this day, Knowles clearly frustrated and muddled the picture for Texas QB Arch Manning.
Tennessee amassed 10 tackles for losses, six of them sacks of Manning.
They helped the Vols win the turnover battle, 2-0, while Manning was coerced into 14-for-19 passing without a touchdown, with an interception and minus-1 net rushing yards.
Texas closed with just 262 yards on 55 offensive snaps – 21 fewer than the host Vols.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas defense, Tennessee offensive line lead winners, losers from SEC showdown
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos