The Good, Bad and Ugly From Texas Longhorns' Win Over Tennessee

It wasn’t a perfect game, a clean performance or fun to watch, but the Texas Longhorns left Neyland Stadium with their perfect record intact.

The offense still has massive questions, and the persistent penalties from a year ago still haunt the Texas faithful.

But once again, Will Muschamp's defense held firm and kept an offense that was averaging over 500 yards and 40 points per game in check.

Good — Defense locked down what had been an explosive offense

Texas Longhorns defensive back Graceson Littleton (29) reacts during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tennessee Volunteers stepped in front of a packed Neyland Stadium averaging 510.3 offensive yards, 298.7 rushing yards and 47.7 points per game.

Against the Texas defense, those numbers dramatically decreased. The Longhorns held Tennessee to just 70 rushing yards and 221 total yards, nearly 290 yards below its season average.

Even more impressive was Texas' ability to prevent the explosive plays that have become a staple of Josh Heupel's offense. Tennessee struggled to generate anything downfield while the Longhorns' defensive front consistently wreaked havoc on freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon.

Texas totaled 10 sacks, with Colin Simmons accounting for half of them. The junior could've very easily had this whole section to himself — had he not shown an atrocious lack of discipline on one of his post-sack celebrations — as he tied the Texas single-game record with five sacks.

Occasional penalties held back what could've been an even cleaner performance — especially Bo Mascoe's two pass interference calls — but all things considered, the Longhorns' defense stifled the Volunteers and carried a sloppy Texas offense to a win.

Bad — Offensive Line

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Trevor Goosby (74) prepares to block during the third quarter against the Texas State Bobcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arch Manning wasn't perfect on Saturday, but the offensive line certainly didn't give him much help.

Saturday was a sack-fest for both teams, and while the Longhorns won that battle in terms of total sacks, Manning was brought to the ground six times. Some of those pressures were a product of Manning holding onto the ball, but Tennessee consistently created confusion up front.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles put on a show with his pressure disguises, bringing rushers from different levels and using movement up front to give Texas' offensive line problems throughout the afternoon.

Connor Robertson also carried his snap issues from last week into Knoxville, sending one ball over Manning's head for a 12-yard loss. Manning was fortunate enough to recover it, but it was another example of an offensive line that never quite looked comfortable.

The unit wasn't much help for the Texas run game, either.

With Hollywood Smothers injured — and sorely missed on Saturday — Raleek Brown received most of the work. Although he scored both Texas touchdowns, consistent running room was difficult to find against Tennessee's defensive front.

Texas eventually found enough success on the ground to put together its decisive fourth-quarter touchdown drive, but for most of the afternoon, the Longhorns' offensive line struggled to consistently protect Manning or establish the run.

Ugly — Penalties were persistent

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The field was littered with yellow laundry on Saturday as the Longhorns drew 11 penalties for 115 yards. At one point, Texas had more yards in penalties than Tennessee had on offense.

There were glaring issues on both sides of the ball.

Manning had trouble with his line-of-scrimmage awareness, tacking on two illegal forward passes. Mascoe's physicality cost him, as he drew two pass interference penalties.

And while Simmons redeemed himself with a monster sack stat sheet, his post-sack celebration produced perhaps the most inexcusable penalty of the afternoon. What would've helped end a Tennessee drive and give Texas excellent field position instead turned into a fresh set of downs and renewed life for the Knoxville crowd.

The mistakes didn't disappear when the game tightened late, either. With Tennessee desperately trying to complete its comeback, Zina Umeozulu's facemask penalty extended the Volunteers' final possession and gave them another opportunity to tie the game.

Penalties were always going to be a concern in a raucous road environment, but 11 penalties for 115 yards goes beyond crowd noise. Texas survived them against Tennessee. That kind of performance could prove much more costly as the Longhorns move deeper into their SEC schedule.

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