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    Jeff Howe
    Of all of the things I least expected to happen to Texas during the 2025 season, there’s no way I would’ve called Arch Manning and Christian Clark to be the two Longhorns who’d go over 100 yards rushing in the same game.
    Nevertheless, Manning led Texas with 155 yards and two touchdowns in Wednesday’s 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. But it was Clark’s 105-yard effort on 20 carries that paced the Longhorn rushing attack, which churned out 235 yards, one yard shy of a season high (236 yards against Sam Houston).
    Clark’s 22-yard burst over the right side of the line on his first carry set the tone for the biggest day of the redshirt freshman’s young career. He gained some much-needed confidence right out of the gate.
    His ability to be patient and then to stick a foot in the ground to get vertical (with a gear he didn’t show earlier in the season) made Clark the right man to get the baton from Quintrevion Wisner as the lead dog in the Texas running game.
    It’s fair to wonder if Clark should’ve gotten more carries throughout the season. Regardless, he rose to the occasion in such a manner that the Longhorns might consider allocating resources elsewhere in the transfer portal if they view Clark as someone who can handle a more significant role. (Running back will still be a top priority, but could Clark be a key rotational piece around a true No. 1 runner?)
    ***
    The Texas (10-3) offensive line didn’t dominate the Wolverines at the point of attack. Seven of the Longhorns’ 33 official rushing attempts were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, and Manning’s 60-yard game-clinching touchdown run elevated the rushing yardage total.
    Still, even with Michigan (9-4) recording five tackles for loss on Wednesday, Kyle Flood’s group ended the season by allowing seven total sacks against seven ranked opponents. The Wolverines became the Longhorns' second ranked foe this season to come up empty trying to sack Manning (Vanderbilt was also shut out in the sack department).
    Whether Trevor Goosby comes back or not, Wednesday’s game made for a solid sendoff for a group that’s going to lose D.J. Campbell, Cole Huston and possibly Connor Robertson.
    ***
    It’s a shame Emmett Mosley V (five catches for 51 yards) was injured late in the first half and couldn’t return. He displayed impressively strong hands and the kind of decisiveness in the quick game that could make him a more versatile weapon than he got a chance to show he could be in his first season with the program.
    ***
    If the Citrus Bowl is the last game for Jack Endries as a Longhorn, it was one in which he made a difference. His five receptions for 35 yards included a touchdown catch that saw him impressively hang onto the ball after getting popped in the end zone.
    ***
    It wasn’t always pretty on defense, especially throughout the third and into the fourth quarter when Michigan started to control the game. A big part of that was Bryce Underwood (199 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, three total touchdowns and two interceptions) taking advantage of available, open throws underneath, eating into a 9.3 to-go distance on third down (a 4-for-15 night on third down) to set the Wolverines up for a 5-for-6 night on fourth down.
    But when the dust settled, Texas finished plus-2 in the turnover margin (3-1) thanks to a pair of big second-half interceptions by Ty’Anthony Smith (a game-high nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry) and a red-zone pick by Wardell Mack.
    ***
    Colin Simmons (one sack and two tackles for loss) impacted the game, especially when he could pin his ears back and attack the Wolverines' tackles. His season-long total of 12 sacks as a sophomore ties him with Tony Degrate (1984), Kiki De Ayala (1981) and Steve McMichael (1977) for eighth on the school’s single-season list (with 21 career sacks, Simmons’ next one will move him into a tie for 12th place on the program’s career charts).
    ***
    While I’m thrilled that the Longhorns got the win and developed a lot of guys during bowl season who will be expected to take on more significant roles in 2026, three things must change before the start of next season:
    — Even though the officiating left a lot to be desired on Wednesday (including two controversial Michigan touchdowns confirmed by the ACC crew after going under the hood for a review), a season-high-tying 12 penalties for 104 yards isn’t how I wanted this team to end the season. I don’t know what Steve Sarkisian needs to do to fix the penalty problem, but Texas must find a way to play cleaner, more disciplined football next season.
    — Outside of Mason Shipley’s 2-for-2 night on field goals (43 and 51 yards, respectively), the kicking game was a disaster. It took the Longhorns entirely too long to stop kicking the ball to Andrew Marsh (163 all-purpose yards, only 10 of which came on offense) and Ryan Niblett’s fumble on a kickoff return, which set up Michigan’s first touchdown, was the only turnover of the game.
    The offense and defense did enough to overcome the net negative contributions from the special teams, a phase of the game in which entirely too many penalties were committed through 13 games.
    — I appreciated the effort of guys like Smith, Mack, Graceson Littleton (six tackles and a pass breakup), Warren Roberson (five tackles and a pass breakup), Kade Phillips (eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup), Bo Barnes (three tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack) and Jelani McDonald (seven tackles), who threw their bodies around in the name of making plays (Roberson came painfully close to forcing a touchback on Underwood's fourth-quarter touchdown run and Mack's interception was preceeded by a sudden move to cornerback with Roberson and Kobe Black unavailable at the time). Still, the challenge for Will Muschamp will be to maximize a dynamic pass rush while tightening up coverage and eliminating the easy throws, of which there were too many available for Underwood on Wednesday.
    ***
    The unsavory aspects of Wednesday’s game aside, Texas rides into the offseason with a 10th win on the strength of a monster game from Manning, with changes afoot to help the Longhorns get back into the College Football Playoff.
    With that as the backdrop, I’ll worry about the transfer portal and how Muschamp will fill out the defensive staff after savoring this one for a bit.
    The 2025 season didn’t play out the way Longhorn fans wanted it to or hoped it would. Thankfully, an undermanned squad of fewer than 70 scholarship players gave everyone something to feel good about heading into 2026.
    Jeff Howe
    Throughout the 2025 season, whenever I’ve been asked to describe or define the identity of the Texas offense, my answer hasn’t changed.
    It's Arch Manning.
    When the Longhorns started a critical fourth-quarter drive in Wednesday’s 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, with Texas (10-3) facing a 27-24 deficit with 10:56 remaining in regulation, @Rod Babers wondered out loud during our watch along whether Steve Sarkisian would focus on players or plays to move the football.
    Immediately after Manning’s fourth-and-2 scramble for 15 yards, which preceded his 30-yard touchdown strike to Kaliq Lockett for the go-ahead score, we had our answer.
    “Arch is the play!” he said.
    Just like he did in leading the Longhorns to wins over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in the regular season, Sarkisian chose to lean on Manning’s playmaking ability in the clutch. And, once again, Manning delivered, including a 60-yard touchdown scamper with 5:06 to play, which served as the final nail in the Wolverines’ coffin.
    Manning played turnover-free football in the Longhorns’ four wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. With his four-touchdown outing against Michigan (9-4), Manning (21-for-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns; nine rushing attempts for 155 yards and two scores en route to Citrus Bowl MVP honors) accounted for 10 total touchdowns (seven passing and three rushing) while quarterbacking Texas to wins over the Wolverines, Sooners, Commodores and Aggies.
    Even though he was bruised and bleeding in the fourth quarter, a time in which an offense that was already playing without Quintrevion Wisner and DeAndre Moore Jr. had to adjust on the fly when injuries took Emmett Mosley V (five catches for 51 yards) and Ryan Wingo (64 yards on four receptions) out of the lineup, Manning did something in Wednesday’s win that every great Longhorn quarterback has done at some point. His presence, playmaking ability and will to win elevated inexperienced weapons like Lockett and Christian Clark (105 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries) to a level nobody who’s watched Texas this season could’ve predicted was possible.
    Those who follow the program have had a front-row seat to watch Manning’s season-long trajectory throughout. As the curtain falls on Manning’s redshirt sophomore campaign, his performance and production are in line with what a lot of folks unfairly expected he’d show from the outset in 2025.
    He’ll take a 12-3 record as a starting quarterback into the 2026 season, one in which the Longhorns will be expected to contend for a berth in the College Football Playoff. While Sarkisian and the Texas organization will dive into the transfer portal to build a roster capable of standing tall after navigating a nine-game SEC schedule, nobody can question whether or not the Longhorns have a championship-caliber quarterback.
    Texas will enter 2026 with a quarterback who has a legitimate case to be labeled as college football’s top gunslinger.
    Jeff Howe
    Wednesday’s Citrus Bowl pits two of the most highly-touted quarterback prospects in the history of modern recruiting against each other when Arch Manning and Bryce Underwood lead their respective teams into battle for the last time in 2025.
    Manning, who will make his 15th career start for Texas, is the eighth-highest rated quarterback prospect in the history of the 247Sports Composite, slightly behind Terrelle Pryor and just ahead of Matt Barkley. Ryan Mallett is the only quarterback to ever sign with Michigan rated higher than Underwood (No. 22 all-time in the 247Sports Composite quarterback rankings), who will start for the 13th and final time as a true freshman.
    That’s where the similarities end between two former prized quarterback recruits at different stages of their respective careers.
    Against a Wolverine defense that ranks 16th nationally in points per game allowed (18.7), 18th in yards per play allowed (4.77) and 22nd in yards per game allowed (312.3), Manning will look to continue the success he’s enjoyed against the Longhorns’ ranked opponents in 2025. Even though he struggled in a season-opening loss to Ohio State, Manning completed 64.2 percent of his passes (104 for 162) against the Buckeyes, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, throwing for 1,094 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions.
    Manning’s 112 net rushing yards in those games include a 36-yard game-clinching touchdown run against the Aggies. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning was pressured on 97 dropbacks, but his pocket presence and athleticism minimized the damage to the tune of just six total sacks for the five ranked foes.
    Wink Martindale, a defensive coordinator known for the variety and volume of pressure looks he’ll throw at opposing quarterbacks, will have to blitz Manning at his own risk. On the 184 dropbacks in which Manning has been blitzed through 12 games, according to PFF, he’s completed more than 57 percent of his passes (96 for 166) for 1,419 yards and 12 touchdowns, throwing just two interceptions with 81 pressures via the blitz leading to only 11 sacks.
    On the other hand, Underwood’s two games against ranked opponents (a 24-13 loss to Oklahoma in his first start on the road and a 27-9 loss to Ohio State at home in the regular season finale) yielded unsavory results. In Michigan's losses to the Sooners and Buckeyes, Underwood went 17-for-42 through the air (40.5 percent completion rate) for 205 yards (4.9 yards per attempt and 12.1 yards per completion) with no touchdown passes and one interception.
    Like most inexperienced quarterbacks, Underwood is still learning how to deal with pressure. According to PFF, Underwood is 28-for-61 on the 29.7 percent of his dropbacks in which he’s faced pressure, with 362 yards, one touchdown and one interception, numbers that have contributed to an NFL passer rating of 63.7.
    Martindale and the Wolverines will play the game without three defensive captains (EDGE Derrick Moore and linebackers Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann). The Longhorns have turned defensive play-calling duties over to Johnny Nansen, who’s left to adjust to the fallout of seven postseason opt-outs.
    Still, the objective for both coordinators on Wednesday should be to win the race to make the game one in which the opponent has to drop back and throw the football to survive.
    A Texas offensive line operating at full strength must keep Manning clean and pave the way for the Longhorns to run the ball well enough to achieve a must-have semblance of balance. The Longhorns surrendered just three sacks in their three regular-season wins over Associated Press top-10 opponents, victories over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in which Texas averaged 155.3 rushing yards per game (4.68 yards per attempt).
    Ty’Anthony Smith and Brad Spence will lead an inexperienced group of Texas linebackers against a Michigan rushing attack that’s one of the best in the country (213.2 yards per game and 5.51 yards per attempt are top-15 marks in FBS). Slowing down the Wolverines’ rushing attack isn’t an insurmountable task, however, with Michigan set to take the field without running back Justice Haynes (857 yards rushing, 7.1 yards per attempt and 10 touchdowns), All-Big Ten tight end/H-back/fullback/lead blocker Max Bredeson and All-Big Ten left guard Gio El-Hadi (it also remains to be seen where leading rusher Jordan Marshall is in his recovery from a late-season shoulder injury).
    Opt-outs and coaching changes add significant unknown variables when trying to predict the winner of a postseason exhibition between two of the five winningest programs in FBS history. The outcome will likely be decided by either the Wolverines slowing down Manning’s ascent toward his ceiling or the Longhorns doing their part to put Underwood’s coming-of-age moment as a college quarterback off until 2026.
    Jeff Howe
    A lot has changed since Texas smacked reigning national champion Michigan, 31-12, on Sept. 7, 2024.
    The Longhorns’ romp snapped several Wolverine winning streaks, including 23 consecutive wins at the Big House and 28 consecutive regular-season victories.
    The rosters and coaching staff for both clubs look a lot different ahead of Wednesday’s Citrus Bowl (2 p.m., ABC), the second meeting between No. 13 Texas (9-3, 6-2 SEC) and No. 18 Michigan (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten) in 15 months. Still, interim offensive coordinator Steve Casula and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale were in Ann Arbor for the second all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Longhorns.
    Casula, Michigan’s interim offensive coordinator for last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl win over Alabama, said during Sunday’s press conferences at Orlando’s Rosen Plaza Hotel that the Texas defense missing seven starting-caliber players and turning defensive play-calling duties over to Johnny Nansen haven’t changed his view of the Longhorns. Casula cited Nansen’s experience as a defensive coordinator (two seasons at Arizona in 2022 and 2023) and the presence of “a very, very special player” on the edge in second-team All-American Colin Simmons when describing why “ a healthy program, a deep program” like Texas remains a formidable opponent.
    “Forget who the players were or what the schemes were or anything,” Casula said. “In totality, they were one of the most well-coached teams, in my opinion, that we've encountered in my time here at Michigan. Our expectation would be that we'd encounter the same thing on Wednesday.”
    Over the last two seasons, only five opponents have had better performances against Martindale’s defense than Steve Sarkisian’s offense, which tallied 389 yards of total offense in the second game of the 2024 season (only three opposing offenses have topped the 5.7 yards per play the Longhorns averaged against the Wolverines in Martindale’s 25 games on the job). Even with the Texas running back room going through a significant transition (Kyle Flood said on Sunday that Christian Clark, Ryan Niblett, James Simon and Michael Terry III could all have roles in Wednesday’s game) and DeAndre Moore Jr. preparing to enter the transfer portal, an offense led by Arch Manning, who completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,094 yards and seven touchdowns (two interceptions) while rushing for 112 yards (4.2 yards per attempt) and a touchdown against ranked opponents in the regular season, has Martindale’s attention.
    “When you had that box of cereal, and you didn't know what the surprise was? It's the same thing going against that offense,” Martindale said. “You're not sure who's going to be there, but they're going to be very talented. It's going to be a great challenge for us.”
    Jeff Howe
    I decided to sleep on the bombshell Steve Sarkisian dropped on Thursday, and my thoughts on Will Muschamp’s return to Texas at the expense of Pete Kwiatkowski’s job (with the collateral damage including the end of Duane Akina’s second stint on the Forty Acres) remain largely the same.
    With that said, it’s worth painting the backdrop for Sarkisian’s calculated risk.
    To understand why the burnt orange faithful love Muschamp, one has to understand the situation he inherited in 2008.
    After Greg Robinson and Gene Chizik successfully built on the foundation that Carl Reese built, with the Longhorns fielding elite defenses in 2004 and 2005, the bottom fell out in 2007.
    A defense co-coordinated by Akina and Larry MacDuff is still the second-worst pass defense in school history in yards per game allowed (277.8). The 23 passing touchdowns the unit gave up set an all-time single-season high at Texas until Vance Bedford’s 2015 defense was burned for 24 scores through the air (Todd Orlando's 2018 and 2019 defenses established new marks, surrendering 26 and 28 passing touchdowns, respectively).
    Much like the 2025 squad, the 2007 Longhorns underachieved compared to preseason expectations.
    Texas was in line to play in a BCS bowl until a sloppy performance in College Station ended with a 38-30 loss to Texas A&M in what turned out to be Dennis Franchione’s last game as coach of the Aggies. Mack Brown famously made every starting job open for competition heading into that season’s Holiday Bowl against Arizona State. The Longhorns played largely inspired football, putting forth arguably their best performance of the season in a 52-34 rout of the Sun Devils, a 10-win team under Dennis Erickson that claimed a share of the Pac-10 title.
    Still, Brown shook things up, hiring Muschamp away from Auburn to run the defense. The impact was felt in Muschamp's first spring as Texas played defense with a physical, disciplined and maniacal edge it lacked since winning the national championship in 2005.
    Muschamp did more than field defenses that played with elite levels of effort, intensity and toughness, harkening back to the days of Mike Campbell and Leon Fuller. He changed the culture across the board, which, along with the evolution of Colt McCoy on offense, spearheaded the Longhorns to a 25-2 record (with a Big 12 title, a BCS championship game appearance and a Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State) during Muschamp’s first two seasons in Austin.
    Fast forward 15 years (the news of Muschamp’s departure to Florida to be Urban Meyer’s successor broke on a massive official visit weekend that coincided with the 2010 Texas team’s postseason banquet), and Sarkisian is in a position where Brown found himself before he hired Muschamp. And it's not where Brown was after he led the program to consecutive 10-3 seasons after the 2005 triumph.
    For Sarkisian, this offseason mirrors where Brown’s tenure stood after the 2003 season, which ended with a disappointing Holiday Bowl loss to Washington State.
    Reese, who was 60 years old at the time, took the Longhorn defense as far as he could. With Mike Leach and Mark Mangino at the forefront of the spread evolution in the Big 12, top-notch offensive minds gradually figured out how to move the ball and score against Reese’s aggressive defenses, which relied on playing high-level man coverage.
    The 59-year-old Kwiatkowski pulled the nose up after a disastrous 2021, leading championship-caliber defenses over the last three seasons. While no guarantee that turning the defense over to Muschamp will get Texas over the hump, the move suggests that Sarkisian made a tough but necessary call.
    If the Longhorns are going to ascend to the next level in Sarkisian's sixth season, changes had to be made.
    Texas has a plethora of potential difference makers along the defensive front who can enhance what Colin Simmons brings to the table. Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips are foundational pieces in the secondary.
    What the Longhorns can’t have when the dust settles on the 2026 season is the feeling that lingers at the end of Anthony Hill Jr.’s collegiate career. Even though Hill made multiple All-America teams, it’s fair to say that there was meat left on the bone, that Texas didn’t get everything it could out of a game-changing presence in the middle of the defense.
    The 54-year-old Muschamp hasn’t been hanging out on the golf course over the last few college football seasons. After his time as Georgia’s co-defensive coordinator ended following the 2023 season, he spent one more season with the Bulldogs as an analyst, making him familiar with SEC offensive play-callers and schemes and, more importantly, the defensive personnel he’s inheriting upon his return to the Longhorns.
    Texas is rightfully loading up for what’s expected to be Arch Manning’s last hurrah. Getting the most out of Simmons (a potential early first-round NFL draft pick in 2027) is just as important in the Longhorns’ quest to overtake Georgia for the SEC throne on their way to college football’s summit.
    It would be nice to make moves with a multi-year vision for the program in mind. Unfortunately, with the roster volatility that exists in college football, on top of Texas missing the College Football Playoff after two consecutive trips, Sarkisian has to make moves that will maximize the next 12-plus months.
    The Muschamp move is the biggest example so far that the Longhorns are approaching 2026 with the mindset of going big or going home.
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