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Simmons ties Texas sack record as Longhorns survive Tennessee rally
Top-ranked Texas escaped Neyland Stadium with a 20-17 victory after Colin Simmons powered a relentless defensive effort and Jelani McDonald denied Tennessee on the final play.
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Texas pressure sets the tone
Texas leaned on its defense to win its SEC opener, holding off No. 14 Tennessee 20-17 Saturday in the Longhorns’ first appearance at Neyland Stadium. The victory moved Texas to 4-0, while Tennessee fell to 3-1. Colin Simmons matched the program record with five sacks, accounting for half of Texas’ 10 sacks. His disruptive performance helped the Longhorns overcome an uneven offensive outing, though an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following a sack also contributed to their discipline problems.
Brown delivers the decisive touchdown
Raleek Brown rushed for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 4-yard scoring run with 5:41 remaining provided the points Texas ultimately needed to withstand Tennessee’s late push. Giannis Spetic added a pair of field goals. Arch Manning finished with 201 passing yards in his first trip to Knoxville, where his uncle Peyton played for Tennessee. The Volunteers sacked Manning six times and intercepted him once. Texas also hurt itself with penalties, including two illegal forward passes by Manning. Tennessee stayed in contention through a special-teams breakthrough. Qua Moss took a punt back 57 yards for a touchdown with 11:14 left in the third quarter, drawing the Volunteers level at 10. Cooper Ranvier also connected on a 33-yard field goal.
Volunteers threaten until the finish
Faizon Brandon led an 80-yard touchdown drive late, finding Mike Matthews for a 30-yard score with 1:22 remaining. Arion Carter then recovered the onside kick to give Tennessee another opportunity. The comeback ended in the end zone when Jelani McDonald knocked away Brandon’s final-play pass intended for Travis Smith Jr. Tennessee’s wait for a victory over a top-ranked team, stretching back to 1985, continued.
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