Jeff Howe

1. Don’t know for sure but things are looking good for a couple of the visitors. 2. Texas has continued to chip away. They’ll be there until the end.

It hasn’t aged well, that’s for sure.

Even for the running game, I’d rather have an extra wideout on the field to pull a defender out of the box rather than muck things up with a second tight end. A third wideout makes you much more versatile and tougher to defend rather than the extra tight end.

I agree on the first point, but everyone on this defense needs to take advantage of in-game snaps, no matter the game situation. It was an opportunity to step up against Arkansas’ backup quarterback.

No doubt. We talked about it throughout the week. I didn’t think the two teams would go over my projected 41-31 final score.

It’ll take the cleanest performance of the season to get the job done.

We’ve got updates in the visitor list thread pinned at the top of the board.

Texas can appeal it. Don’t know if Sark will.

I would love for that to be the case. A&M is good, but they’re beatable.

They don't have the instincts and playmaking ability of Anthony Hill. That's the difference between starting caliber guys on an SEC defense and an All-American.

Texas secured Saturday’s 52-37 win over Arkansas thanks to four outstanding individual plays in the third quarter. On second-and-2 from the Razorbacks’ 44-yard line, Maraad Watson forced Mike Washington Jr. to bounce a run outside, where Colin Simmons and Malik Muhammad finished him off for a 1-yard loss. One play later, Jelani McDonald was in the right place at the right time, intercepting Taylen Green’s inexplicable decision to push the ball off his chest and into open space as the walls were closing in on him on third-and-3. On the Longhorns' ensuing possession, Quintrevion Wisner got away from a defender near the line of scrimmage and weaved his way to a 4-yard gain on third-and-3. On third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Arch Manning came through with arguably the biggest highlight from the most productive outing of his career, spinning out of pressure and threading the needle between two defenders on a throw against the grain to DeAndre Moore Jr. (74 yards on three receptions, all of which were touchdowns) in the back of the end zone. Those four plays went a long way toward helping No. 17 Texas (8-3, 5-2 SEC) turn a shootout with Arkansas (2-9, 0-7) into a blowout victory. A team that’s found it hard to put together sequences of ideal complementary football this season did so, putting a frustratingly erratic first half in the rearview mirror. *** While accounting for six touchdowns, one of which featured him being on the receiving end of a 4-yard touchdown pass by Parker Livingstone (two catches for 104 yards and a touchdown), Manning was magnificent. Manning and Steve Sarkisian attacked a porous Razorback secondary, successfully hunting explosive plays. The Longhorns came into the day with 19 pass completions of 30 or more yards in their first 10 games; Manning connected with four different receivers on five 30-plus-yard completions en route to a career-high 389 yards on an 18-for-30 effort. Manning's play is elevating the offense and lifting those around him. Although he’s still dealing with dirty pockets and too many dropped passes, the game is slowing down for Manning as he turns the page and begins preparing to face Mike Elko’s Texas A&M defense next Friday in the regular-season finale. *** The Arkansas offense is one of the most explosive in the country. Still, the Texas defense surrendering 37 points, 512 total yards and 324 yards through the air (the third time in the last four games an opponent has thrown for 300 or more yards against the Longhorns) is gross and doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in next week’s showdown with the Aggies’ potent attack. To the defense’s credit, the Razorbacks averaged 2.2 yards per rushing attempt in the second half (31 net yards on 14 carries) after gashing Texas for 157 (9.2 yards per carry) in the first half. After three runs from scrimmage of at least 20 yards in the first half, Arkansas didn’t notch an explosive run after halftime until a 12-yard scramble by KJ Jackson reached the end zone in the fourth quarter. Regardless, the concern coming out of the game for Pete Kwiatkowski’s group is two-fold. For starters, the Razorbacks shredded Texas in the middle of the field, specifically with their tight ends (Rohan Jones and Jaden Platt combined for 148 yards and a touchdown on nine catches). On top of the defense’s lingering coverage issues, Anthony Hill Jr.’s health and Ty’Anthony Smith’s third-quarter ejection for targeting made the Longhorns a less versatile, less athletic group that was easier to attack at the second level. The availability of the Kwiatkowski's linebackers is arguably the most significant storyline heading into the Texas A&M game. *** Even with Wisner (67 yards on 15 carries) looking strong at times in the second half, Texas became the first FBS defense to rush for less than 100 yards against Arkansas this season (97 net yards on 28 carries). Still, Wisner and CJ Baxter Jr. (24 yards on seven carries), combining for 91 yards on 22 carries, is what the offense needs from the running backs to achieve balance and relieve pressure on Manning, which hasn’t happened often enough this season. *** Kade Phillips and Graceson Littleton combined for five of the defense’s seven pass breakups. The snaps those two continue to log will set the tone for the 2026 season, one in which the Longhorns need playmakers to emerge on the back end. *** Overall, a 15-point win over the worst team was a microcosm of the 2025 season for the Longhorns. The game started with the offense on fire and the defense on its heels. When the defense settled in, the offense got stagnant. From the closing minutes of the first half to the 11:30 mark of the fourth quarter (Liona Lefau's 52-yard fumble return for a touchdown off a strip sack by Simmons put Texas up by 29 points, 52-23), however, Sarkisian's club did what it had to, on both sides of the ball, to bury an inferior opponent. The defense allowed two late scoring drives, dampening a performance in which the unit shook off a forgettable start. Texas needed every one of the 490 total yards (8.3 yards per play) the offense racked up to put away the Razorbacks. The offense ran roughshod in the third quarter, scoring 21 points and averaging 10.9 yards per play. The first three quarters of the Vanderbilt game were likely this team at its peak. Nevertheless, the stretches when the Longhorns are clicking on cylinders are why the burnt orange faithful can hang onto hope of Texas ending the regular season with a bang by spoiling the Aggies' perfect season. View full news story

Now, Texas is dealing with Ty’Anthony Smith’s targeting ejection, which will force him to miss the first half of the Texas A&M game.

Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has been ruled out for Saturday’s home game against Arkansas (2:30 p.m., ABC). Friday’s SEC student-athlete availability report downgraded Hill from questionable to doubtful for the game. Issued 90 minutes before kickoff, the pregame availability report confirmed that the Longhorns will have to take on the Razorbacks without Hill, who suffered a hand injury in last Saturday’s 35-10 road loss to Georgia. Hill is the leading tackler (69 total tackles) for Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC). He has recorded seven tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions as a junior. Hill’s absence adds a degree of difficulty to the Longhorns’ challenge slowing down an explosive Arkansas (2-8, 0-6) offense. The Razorbacks are fifth nationally in yards per play (7.22), 13th in total offense (470 yards per game) and trail only Ole Miss for the FBS lead in plays from scrimmage that have gained 10 or more yards (183). There were no Texas players listed on the pregame availability report other than Hill. Wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who has been dealing with a thumb injury since the team's 34-31 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 1, wasn't listed on Saturday's availability report. Wingo, who leads the Longhorns in receptions (40), yards receiving (655) and touchdown receptions (six), was listed as probable on Wednesday and Thursday before he was removed from the availability report on Friday. View full news story

We'll get a final report 90 minutes before kickoff tomorrow.

Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was downgraded to doubtful for Saturday’s home game against Arkansas (2:30 p.m., ABC) on Friday’s SEC student-athlete availability report. The good news for the Longhorns is that wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who has been dealing with a thumb injury he sustained in the team’s 34-31 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 1, was off the report. He was listed as probable on Wednesday and Thursday. The bad news, however, is that Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC) could have to face an explosive Razorback offense without one of the top defensive players in the country if Hill can’t go. Steve Sarkisian said on Thursday that Hill had been limited in practice after suffering a hand injury in last Saturday's 35-10 road loss to Georgia. "We're kind of taking this day-by-day with him to see kinda how he feels towards the end of the week," Sarkisian said. "The beauty of it for Ant — he's played so much football for us that you can get a lot of reps done throughout a walkthrough to see if he's healthy enough to go. The walkthrough reps, I think, can carry over into a ballgame." View full news story

Thought I'd put together some pregame food for thought on the Texas defense.

It’s been a tough second half of the season for the Texas secondary. What has perhaps been most disappointing regarding Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense on the back end is the number of explosive plays the Longhorns have allowed through the air over their last three games. In wins over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, along with last Saturday’s loss to Georgia, No. 17 Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC) has surrendered 28 completions of 15 or more yards, five of which have gone for more than 30 yards. The Longhorns only allowed 27 explosive pass completions through the first six games of the season, with the number of 30-plus-yard pass plays by their last three opponents matching the output of their first six. “We have got to get that number back down,” Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. “Explosive passes don't always occur when they throw it over your head. Now, we've got a couple of those, but to me, it's more about our ability to get people on the ground when they get completions. When you start talking about playing in space, you start talking about leveraging [the football] when you're tackling, when you start talking about populating the ball, when you start talking about using proper angles when you have a second tackler to force the cutback or using the sidelines, those are things that we've got to improve upon.” It will be easier said than done to clean things up against an Arkansas offense that enters Saturday’s game (2:30 p.m., ABC) with the fourth-most pass completions of 20 or more yards (42) and 30-plus yards (19) in the SEC. Still, a defense that’s tied for the fewest pass breakups (17) in the SEC during conference play must be around the football more often to maximize the impact of a pass rush that’s one of the best in the country. Texas averages 3.6 sacks per game, which is No. 3 nationally. The Longhorns boast Pro Football Focus’ fourth-highest-graded FBS pass rush and, according to CollegeFootballData.com, are No. 9 in the country in front-seven havoc rate (a per-snap percentage of a defense’s tackles for loss, sacks, pass breakups, interceptions and forced fumbles recorded by front-seven defenders). Whatever was tweaked behind the scenes heading into the penultimate game of the regular season must result in better synergy between the pressure and coverage elements of the Texas defense for the Longhorns to keep one of the nation’s most explosive offenses from running up and down the field. *** Especially if Anthony Hill Jr.'s hand injury limits him or forces him to miss the game with the Razorbacks, the conundrum Kwiatkowski faces is not having the luxury of utilizing additional resources to defend the Arkansas (2-8, 0-6) passing game. While Bobby Petrino’s offense is sixth in the country in rushing yards per attempt (5.89) and 19th in rushing yards per game (205.4), the metric that shows where Texas will be challenged is line yards per carry, which calculates the amount of rushing yardage attributed to the offensive line using weighted percentages. The Razorbacks lead the SEC and rank sixth in the FBS with an average of 3.468 line yards per carry, meaning the Longhorns can’t count on defending the run with a light box against one of the nation’s most efficient and impactful run-blocking offensive lines. *** Furthermore, Hill’s availability could significantly impact how Texas defends Taylen Green. Green’s season-long PFF grade as a runner is 92.3, the highest among FBS quarterbacks, a category in which he ranks fourth in rushing yards gained (911) and sixth in yards after contact (473). Green is tied for 12th among FBS quarterbacks in missed tackles forced (26) while leading the country in gains from scrimmage of 10 or more yards (38) and ranking second in yards gained on scrambles (431). Green’s yardage gained is split almost evenly between scrambles and designed runs (480 yards, which ranks 11th among FBS quarterbacks). Petrino incorporated a slew of quarterback runs within a traditional pro-style offense when he coached Lamar Jackson to a Heisman Trophy-winning season at Louisville in 2016, something he continues to do. “He's doing the same thing with Green,” Sarkisian said on Thursday. “You talk about a coach's versatility and [being] willing to evolve, I give him a ton of credit on that because he was not stuck in his ways. “He forces you to defend a lot of different things.” View full news story

Hard bone!

They only won because Bobby Hill ran out of eligibility and could no longer lead to the Heimlich County Community College meats judging team to victory.

For me, the Desmond Howard situation is likely a case of him getting intel he thought was worth running with and posting something on social media. Whether there was malicious intent there, to me, is irrelevant and it’s more of a matter of the validity of his source and whether he vetted it or not. In my experience, these things aren’t as nuanced as someone might think. More often than not, someone simply ran with bad intel they thought was good.