Texas is the undefeated No. 1 team in the country with wins over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 14 Tennessee. The Longhorns have navigated a difficult early schedule well and are on pace to be the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. Call it champagne problems but this Texas team looks anything but invincible.
You have the weird issues from the Holly Rowe drama that enveloped Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning to the Colin Simmons' "simulating using the restroom" penalty that Sarkisian bizarrely blamed a "look at me" society for happening. There are the dumb on-field decisions like the awful facemask penalty on Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon late in the fourth quarter that kept the Vols' hopes alive when it was 3rd-and-19. There are the more serious issues like the arrest of linebackers coach Johnny Nansen days after the Ohio State win on charges of driving while impaired, for which Nansen missed one game.
Texas had 11 penalties Saturday, which included that wild Simmons one, and the consequences from those penalties played a big role in the game being as close as it was. Texas was probably lucky to avoid another celebration for unsportsmanlike conduct after running back Raleek Brown had a wild touchdown celebration that also mimed putting his hands down his pants. How Brown thought it was smart to do that after seeing the affect Simmons' penalty had on Texas -- saving Tennessee from fourth-and-forever and maybe changing the momentum of the game -- is hard to comprehend.
Is this just an undisciplined team? It looked like it Saturday when it gave up a punt return touchdown and seemed unprepared for the Vols' successful onside kick late in the fourth quarter. It reminded me of when I saw Texas in person last fall when the Longhorns were also unprepared on special teams in a beatdown at Georgia. (Texas did question whether it was a legal onside kick by Tennessee).
Is Sark incapable of getting the most out of Manning? Arch again looked shaky on a day he went 14 for 29 for 201 yards and an interception. He looked nothing like the type of player some have projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NFL Draft.
His offensive line, which had pass-protection issues Saturday that harkened back to 2025's woes, is also a concern. There are a lot of questions percolating about a team that hasn't gotten tripped up yet, albeit it has come very close twice now. Is it just a matter of time before Texas' flaws get fully exposed?
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