No. 1 Texas Survives Tennessee 20-17 Behind Record Five-Sack Day From Colin Simmons

OriginalGlobal Sportscast deskSep 26, 2026 · 22:15 UTC

The short version

No. 1 Texas beat No. 14 Tennessee 20-17 in Knoxville to open SEC play at 1-0.
Colin Simmons recorded five sacks, tying Shane Dronett's single-game school record from 1990.
Texas finished with 10 sacks as a team; Jelani McDonald broke up a Hail Mary to end Tennessee's late rally.
Arch Manning went 14 of 19 for 201 yards, no touchdowns and one interception while taking six sacks.
Texas is off next week before facing Oklahoma on Oct. 10 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The top-ranked Longhorns opened SEC play with a road win at Neyland Stadium, escaping a late Tennessee rally to move to 4-0 ahead of their bye week.

No. 1 Texas held off No. 14 Tennessee 20-17 on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, improving to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. The game, played before a crowd of 101,915 that included President Donald Trump, felt tighter than the final margin, and the Longhorns needed a series of late defensive plays to seal it.

Tennessee pulled within three on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining, then recovered an onside kick to set up a dramatic final minute. Texas answered with a big sack, though a defensive penalty kept the Volunteers alive before Jelani McDonald broke up a Hail Mary attempt in the end zone to end the game.

The Longhorns' defense dominated for most of the night, finishing with 10 sacks against a respected Tennessee front. Edge rusher Colin Simmons led the way with five sacks, tying a single-game school record set by Shane Dronett against Texas Tech in 1990. Rasheem Biles, Maraad Watson, Zina Umeozulu, Hero Kanu and Alex January also recorded sacks, with the total spread across two defensive ends, three defensive tackles and a linebacker.

Texas' offense struggled to run the ball for three quarters, managing just 37 rushing yards before finishing with 70 on an average of 1.7 yards per carry. Starting running back Hollywood Smothers, upgraded to probable before the game, went through pregame warmups but did not play after being sidelined by an injury. Raleek Brown carried 17 times for 67 yards and two critical touchdowns, with a long run of 10 yards and an average of 3.9 yards per attempt.

As in the win over Ohio State two weeks earlier, the offensive line wore down the Volunteers in the fourth quarter, grinding out yards and clock late. Quarterback Arch Manning completed 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, but he held the ball long enough to absorb a season-high six sacks and was twice flagged for throwing past the line of scrimmage. Manning also took several big hits on scrambles that drew visible frustration from coach Steve Sarkisian.

The win gives Texas victories over a No. 1 and a No. 14 team in its first four games, with the Ohio State triumph preceding Saturday's result. Elsewhere among the top five, No. 3 Notre Dame was shutting out Purdue 35-0 on the road, No. 5 Indiana beat Northwestern 29-23 at home on Friday night, No. 2 Georgia led unranked Oklahoma 7-0 early, and No. 4 Ole Miss trailed 7-0 at No. 21 Florida in the early going.

Texas now enters its bye week before the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma on Oct. 10 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The off week gives the Longhorns time to heal, begin game-planning for the Sooners and allow coaches time on the recruiting trail ahead of the 2:30 p.m. kickoff, which will be televised on either ABC or ESPN.