The No. 1 Texas Longhorns faced a tough task in Tennessee on Saturday and held off the Volunteers' late-game comeback attempt, winning 20-17 to remain undefeated. After the game, head coach Steve Sarkisian called out criticism suggesting that the Longhorns lacked physicality compared to other teams. According to the Texas head coach, his team displayed its physicality in its hard-fought win at Knoxville.
"I think they had eight guys get carted off, so I’m not sure who wrote the article today and what coach said, 'We weren’t a physical football team,' but they might want to write another article," Sarkisian said during his postgame media session. On Friday, an article from The Athletic quoted an anonymous coach who said Texas has "everything" but also indicated that "they just don’t have an edge to ’em" and are "soft everywhere." That anonymous criticism may have added some extra fuel for Sarkisian and his players ahead of Saturday's game. More news: Paul Finebaum Names Surprise Heisman Trophy Darkhorse No One Saw Coming The Longhorns held Tennessee to 221 yards of offense and recorded 10 sacks in the win against the Volunteers quarterbacks.
At one point, starting freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was shaken up after sustaining a massive hit and left the game, with backup George MacIntyre coming in until Brandon eventually returned. Texas's junior edge rusher Colin Simmons had half of his team's sacks in a huge day. He also drew a significant penalty for his on-field celebration, in which he pretended to urinate on the field after a big tackle.
Texas drew plenty of penalties in their tough road game on Saturday. They racked up 11 penalties for 115 yards. In addition to Brandon leaving momentarily, the Volunteers' left guard Wendell Moe and defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam both left the game for Tennessee.
While the final stats reveal Tennessee had 21 more total plays and possessed the ball about three minutes longer than Texas, the offense was limited throughout the game. They converted only four third-down attempts out of their 16 attempts due to the Longhorns' defense. Neyland Stadium provided a rowdy environment for Arch Manning and the Longhorns on Saturday, and the Volunteers got to Manning for six sacks.
Still, Texas pulled off a big win away from home. Afterward, Sarkisian addressed critics who suggested his team might struggle on the road against their SEC opponent. "We’re used to this arena. … We win big games.
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