Jeff Howe

Chase Cotton, one of the top right-handed pitchers in the 2028 class, has committed to Texas. Cotton was on campus for the football game against Ohio State. This is one of the commitments @Blake Munroe hinted at earlier today. Massive pickup for Jim Schlossnagle and Max Weiner, to say the least.

Jeff Traylor's team is going to play hard, but this is a good week for Texas to get right before SEC play.

AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian couldn’t have been blunter when describing how No. 1 Texas has protected the football and played defense on third down through two games. On Monday, two days after the Longhorns rallied for a 24-23 win over then-No. 1 Ohio State and immediately following his team’s first practice ahead of their non-conference finale against UTSA on Saturday (7 p.m., SEC Network+), Sarkisian mentioned ball security and third-down defense as things Texas (2-0) must fix after the team’s film review of the good, bad and ugly plays from the victory over the Buckeyes. “I got on the offense's butt this morning about the ball. Our ball security is not good enough. Not to be a championship team,” Sarkisian said. “Our third-down defense right now is not good enough. Not to be a championship team.” Only five SEC teams have fumbled the football more than Texas has heading into the Longhorns’ third all-time meeting against Jeff Traylor’s Roadrunners, with three fumbles coming against Ohio State. While heads-up plays by Kade Phillips (to recover a muffed punt by Ryan Niblett late in the third quarter) and Cam Coleman (to recover fumble on the ensuing offensive series by Emmett Mosley V at the end of a 15-yard completion from Arch Manning) helped Texas end the game with Raleek Brown’s fumble on the first play from scrimmage as its only lost fumble, the Longhorns are almost halfway to their 13-game fumble total in 2025 (eight, two of which were lost) and one-third of the way to the nine turnovers they had last season (Brown’s fumble and two interceptions by Manning, one in each game). “We take pride in our ability to take care of the ball,” Sarkisian said. “We've got to improve our ball security because it wasn't just about the turnovers; it was the other fumbles.” With only eight FBS teams forcing more turnovers heading into Week 3 than UTSA (2-0), this would be a good week to right the ship. The Roadrunners have five takeaways this season (tied for fifth nationally with a plus-2.5 turnover margin per game), three of which came in their 31-26 come-from-behind road win over Texas State last week. “We have got to value the football more in the organization than we have through two games,” Sarkisian said. Will Muschamp’s defense getting off the field more frequently on third down, however, requires a more nuanced resolution. The Longhorns are tied for 125th nationally in third-down defense, with Texas State and Ohio State moving the chains at a combined 50-percent clip (14-for-28). What was most disappointing about the third-down effort against the Buckeyes was the defense’s inability to get off the field on third-and-long. Ohio State, which was faced with an average to-go distance of 7.9 yards on third down, converted three of the five third-and-9 or longer situations it had, including a pair of third-and-10 completions from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith (a 19-yard strike in the first quarter and a 43-yard bomb in the third quarter), which came on two different Buckeye scoring drives (a first-half touchdown drive and a third-quarter field goal). After Ohio State went 5-for-8 on third down in the first half, the 43-yard connection between Sayin and Smith was the only third-down conversion Texas allowed in the second half. The Buckeyes went 1-for-6 trying to move the chains, which Sarkisian credited to Muschamp’s defensive adjustments after a rough start, which included turnovers putting the defense in disadvantageous sudden-change situations (31 of Ohio State’s 37 first-half plays from scrimmage occurred in Longhorn territory). With Texas’ defensive identity a work in progress, Sarkisian indicated the second-half adjustments against the Buckeyes could be what Muschamp does from the jump against the Roadrunners, who are 6-for-24 on third down this season (25-percent conversion rate is tied for 129th nationally). “I thought Ohio State, to their credit, did a lot,” Sarkisian said. “They taxed us mentally with some formations, motion, shifts, alignments that caused a lot of communication, and I didn't think our communication was as good as it could have been. I thought we got better in the second half, but I think we're better defensively right now when we're in your face, when we're aggressive. We tried to play the other way a little bit in the first half and that wasn't, kind of, I think, where our identity is. I thought when we just, kind of, got in your face and played a little bit more aggressive, we played better football. That's probably where our bread and butter is right now, but we need to be more versatile. “We've got to continue to work on those other things.” OTHER STATS TO TRACK — What’s impressive about Texas’ third-down offense goes beyond the 64.5-percent clip at which the Longhorns are converting (No. 5 in FBS). That’s on pace to shatter the Sarkisian-era high of 44.03 percent in 2021. The same is true of the offense’s third-down tries based on a two-game sample. With 31 third-down attempts through two games, the current pace of 15.5 third-down attempts per game would surpass last season (13.5 third-down attempts per game) for the Sarkisian-era high. Typically, Sarkisian’s offense has relied on big plays to move the chains, ranking among the nation’s leaders in percentage of first downs made on first and second down. Instead of trying to avoid third down and score in a hurry, the Longhorns are facing more third downs, converting them at a higher clip and putting together more long drives. After recording 14 scoring drives that amassed 10 or more plays in 2025, Texas has already had six such drives through two games this season, including each of the offense’s last three scoring drives against Ohio State. The trend should continue against a UTSA defense that’s 115th nationally on third down (45.7 percent conversion rate allowed) and 133rd against the run (233 yards per game allowed), with the Roadrunners surrendering more than 5.5 yards per carry. — With the SEC opener on the road against an explosive Tennessee offense (a top-30 offense in the country with 35 10-plus-yard plays and 14 20-plus-yard plays from scrimmage) looming, the Longhorn defense needs to clamp down on allowing big plays. Texas is currently tied for 87th nationally in plays from scrimmage of 10 or more yards allowed (25) and is tied for 96th in FBS with nine 20-plus-yard plays allowed. Most of the damage has been through the air; 18 of the 25 10-yard plays and seven of the nine 20-yard plays have been on passing plays by the opponent. This is another statistical category in which Muschamp’s defense can iron things out before jumping into SEC play. In wins over UTRGV and Texas State, UTSA’s offense has completed 17 passes of 10 or more yards (tied for 74th nationally), with only five of 20 or more yards (tied for 92nd in FBS). View full news story

ICYMI, Goosby was also named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week:

From UT: Smothers fueled Texas to a 24-23 come-from-behind victory against No. 1/1 Ohio State on Sept. 12 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. It was Texas’ first 20-plus-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a No. 1 team in 22 years. It was the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback and the fourth-largest overall comeback in program history. The Longhorns improved to 2-0 and clinched their 11th-consecutive victory at home, including their fourth-straight win at home against a ranked opponent, which leads the nation. Smothers touched the ball 25 times in three different ways for 108 all-purpose yards in the win over the Buckeyes. Smothers had 21 carries for 74 yards (3.5 ypc) and two touchdowns to go along with two receptions for 15 yards and a kickoff return for 19 yards. The Longhorns' offense manufactured three-consecutive touchdown drives to end the game (all of at least 12 plays and 72 yards) and rally from a 23-3 deficit. Smothers scored on a one-yard run with 7:14 remaining in the game to trim Ohio State’s lead to 23-17. With 00:25 seconds remaining in the ballgame, Smothers scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run to even the score at 23-23 before senior kicker Gianni Spetic’s PAT put Texas on top, 24-23. On the season, Smothers leads Texas with 144 rushing yards on 31 attempts (4.6 ypc) and two touchdowns. Smothers’ is averaging a team-high 72 rushing yards per game. Additionally, Smothers has caught five passes for 43 yards (8.6 ypr) and a touchdown. The Louisville Sports Commission launched the Paul Hornung Award in 2010 to honor its namesake and native son, and to promote outstanding performances by versatile college football players who often go unnoticed. Each week during the regular season, a panel of college football experts selects players for the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll based on performance. A national selection committee comprised of 18 sports journalists and former NFL stars votes for the Hornung Award finalists and the winner, with fan voting powered by Texas Roadhouse comprising the 19th vote.

Good stuff! 🤘

Fire it into the sun!

Hill was a bright spot for the Titans:

The Broncos didn’t do anything with it, but it’s nice to Brandon Jones still playing well:

It’s refreshing to watch Texas impose its will on people when it matters.

Indeed!