Texas defensive line overwhelms Tennessee, Horns take down Vols in Knoxville
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Tennessee’s offensive line will see Colin Simmons in their nightmares tonight. The star Longhorns pass rusher blew up plays left and right to lead his No. 1 Texas Longhorns to a 20-17 win over Tennessee in Knoxville.
As far as individual efforts go, it’s hard to look more impressive than Simmons did on Saturday. Simmons got to Vols freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon 5 times — the most by an individual player in an SEC-on-SEC matchup since at least 2001.
As a collective, the Longhorns took down Brandon 10 times with 12 tackles for loss while allowing 216 yards of total offense — a good chunk of which came in the final minutes with Texas already up 2 possessions.
After a few impressive weeks, Brandon looked lost against the Longhorns defensive front. He was under duress throughout the game, but remained hesitant even when he was able to get a few precious seconds of clean pocket. The former 5-star prospect completed 17 of his 29 passing attempts for 145 yards with 1 touchdown and zero interceptions.
Tennessee didn’t go down without a fight. The Vols scored a touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining, then recovered the ensuing onside attempt. The Longhorns defense then returned to form, keeping Brandon and the Vols offense from gaining enough yards for a field goal.
It was far from a spotless outing for Arch Manning and the Longhorns offense, but the Texas QB did a good job of managing the game in the second half as the Vols flopped on the other side of the field. Raleek Brown had the best day of any skill position player on either side, taking 17 carries for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Here’s a look at the score that put the Volunteers to bed:
Next up, Texas is set to face off against Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout on October 10.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
