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November 25, 2025 *** The game... Texas (4-2) vs. Chaminade (2–2) Chaminade has wins over Alaska and Western Washington. Their two losses were Alaska Anchorage 57–53 and in Maui to Washington State 90–85. When: 10:30 p.m. CT Where: Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) - Maui, Hawaii TV: ESPN2 Line: Couldn't Find One Texas in the Maui Invitational ... Texas is making its sixth appearance in the Maui Invitational (one title in 2020), while Head Coach Sean Miller is making his fourth trip to the Lahaina Civic Center (one title in 2014). Texas 2025-26 roster Tramon Mark, CG, 6-6, Gr. (10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists in 2024-25) Simeon Wilcher, CG, 6-4, junior (8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists) Jordan Pope, CG, 6-0, senior (11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists) Chendall Weaver, G, 6-3, senior (6.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists) Dailyn Swain, F/G, 6-8, junior (11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals at Xavier) Camden Heide, F, 6-7, junior (4.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 39.2% from three at Purdue) Matas Vokietaitas, C, 7-0, sophomore (10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds at FAU) Lassina Traore, C, 6-10, senior (11.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 2023-24 at LBSU) Nic Codie, PF, 6-9, sophomore Declan Duru, F, 6-8.5, freshman John Clark, PF, 6-8.5, freshman - likely to redshirt Lewis Obiorah, C, 7-1, freshman - will redshirt

FYI - this is from Gerry Hamilton. Texas pledge Charlie Jilek did not visit Texas this past weekend. He is visiting the Longhorns this weekend instead.

AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning will lead Texas into the 2025 regular-season finale against Texas A&M on Friday (6:30 p.m., ABC), looking to extend the best stretch of football he’s played in his first full season as QB1 for the Longhorns. The career-high 389 yards Manning threw for and six touchdowns he accounted for (he and Bobby Layne as the only quarterbacks in school history to throw for, rush for and catch a touchdown in a single game) in Saturday’s 52-37 win over Arkansas earned him a Manning Award Star of the Week nod, a spot on the Davey O’Brien Award’s “Great 8” list and recognition as the Associated Press National Player of the Week. Manning’s historic afternoon made him the first Texas (8-3, 5-2 SEC) quarterback to record three 300-yard passing games in a four-game stretch since Colt McCoy in 2009, one in which Manning (against Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Arkansas) has accounted for 14 touchdowns (11 passing, two rushing and one receiving). Doing his part to keep the Longhorns in the hunt for a third consecutive berth in the College Football Playoff over the team’s last four games, Manning is completing 65.1 percent of his passes (99 for 152). He's thrown for 1,314 yards and just two interceptions heading into Friday’s showdown with the Aggies at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game has slowed down for Manning and, as a result, he’s thriving, Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. While praising Manning’s continued growth as a progression passer and decision maker, Sarkisian said that how the redshirt sophomore quarterback overcame his early-season struggles has led to Manning’s play becoming, arguably, the biggest strength of a Texas team standing between Texas A&M (11-0, 7-0) and its first-ever trip to the SEC title game. “I don't know if any college player has gone through what he went through before he even was the full-time starter,” Sarkisian said. “Part of that is his last name, part of it is our brand. I think those two things coming together made this such a big storyline before the season, but none of it was anything due to what Arch was doing. He just kept focusing on what he needed and tried to do. I'm sure there were moments when it was a lot — maybe, even overwhelming — but, to his credit, the guy showed so much resolve and resiliency and stick-to-itiveness to the task at hand. It wasn't a perfect journey to get to this point, but sometimes, it's good not to have a perfect journey. Sometimes, taking a road less traveled is good for you. "I said this earlier in the year — he was going to benefit from the journey that he had to go on and that he could learn how to overcome some of the adversity that he was faced with and some of the criticism he was faced with," he added. "I think he's better and stronger for it today and I'm really proud of him.” View full news story

Wanted to share some moments and tweets from the game on Saturday with a quick thread here on OTF. Let me know if there are any specific stats or plays you would like me to look into!

2026 Georgetown OL Kaden Scherer Flips to Texas *** Bang! Two days, two commits for the Texas Longhorns, both of which coming out of Georgetown High! Kaden Scherer becomes the latest to join the Texas 2026 class and it comes on the heels of an official visit over the weekend with the Horns. Scherer, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive line, said he grew up rooting and watching the Longhorns as a kid in Georgetown and when the offer came in, it was a very big deal for him. Texas adds another offensive lineman to the class. Scherer told me last week Texas was pitching both tackle and guard to him, wanting to see how he would develop and progress physically. View full news story

Could be some interesting news that breaks today. I’ll be on the lookout.

3 Stars of the Game vs. Arkansas *** Star No. 1: QB Arch Manning Without question, the Texas quarterback gets the nod for player of the game. This is also the third time in four weeks where Manning was my player of the game. Manning collected six total touchdowns and threw for a career high 389 passing yards as the offense had one of its best days of the year. Star No. 2: WR DeAndre Moore Three receptions, three touchdowns for DeAndre Moore. Add 76 yards to the tally as well, and that is a heck of a day. Whether it was winning in one-on-ones, or getting open in the scramble drill, Moore had a heck of a day. Star No. 3: EDGE Colin Simmons I almost can't find three stars of the day without the inclusion of both Simmons and Manning. But I am sure Texas fans will take that exact trade off. A strip sack that resulted in a fumble recovery for touchdown was the highlight of the day, but Simmons also added six pressures on the quarterback and is now over 10 sacks on the season. HM1: Trevor Goosby had a clean sheet on the pass pro front. 36 pass pro snaps, zero pressures or hurries allowed. HM2: Two catches for 104 yards and a TD, plus a passing touchdown. It was quite the afternoon for Livingstone.

Texas-Arkansas visitor list thread CJ and I will be adding to the visitor list throughout the day. Official visitor list ... Brysten Martinez, OT, Gonzales (La.) East Ascension - *LSU commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star+ Kaden Scherer, OT, Georgetown (Texas) High - *Stanford commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 3-star++ Jett Walker, RB, Georgetown (Texas) High - *Minnesota commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 3-star++ Charlie Jilek, TE, Portage (Mi.) Central #AllGasNoBrakes OnTexasFootball ranking: 3-star++ Richard Anderson, DL, New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr - *LSU commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 5-star Rocky Cummings, LB, Carlsbad (Calif.) High - *Cal commit OnTexasFootball ranking: 3-star++ Josiah Vilmael, CB/N, Richmond (Texas) Fort Bend Travis OnTexasFootball ranking: 3-star++ Commits ... Richard Wesley, EDGE, Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon OnTexasFootball: 5-star James Johnson, DL, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern OnTexasFootball: 4-Star++ Hayward Howard Jr., DB, New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star

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

Before he addressed his football team’s upcoming home game against Arkansas, Steve Sarkisian addressed his coaching future at the University of Texas. Less than a month after Diana Russini of "The Athletic" reported that Sarkisian’s camp had expressed interest on his behalf in potential NFL head coaching openings, ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard said in a video posted on social media that Sarkisian and the Longhorns could be headed toward a mutual parting of ways. The following is Sarkisian’s statement on the rumors surrounding his job, in its entirety: “I’d like to comment on something before I get into our team, something that has been bothering me now over the past few weeks, and that is people reporting that — or insinuating that — there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas. And that is absolutely false and untrue. I’m not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. But, at the point now, I feel like that it’s important that I do do this because it’s important for our team, it’s important for our university. I’ve had no discussions — not with my agent, not with the university, not with any other school, not with any NFL team — about ever going anywhere else. I came here to win championships. I’ve got two kids enrolled at the University of Texas, one in law school and one on our team. I’ve got a third that, hopefully, decides to enroll at the University of Texas next fall, and my wife and I just had our son here in Austin. This is our home. We came here to win championships. We’ve built a damn-good football program over the five years we’ve been here. We’ve been to two College Football Playoffs, we won a Big 12 championship, we went to the SEC Championship Game in Year 1, we’ve had 23 players drafted the last two years, which is more than any other school in the country and our team GPA is at an all-time high. So, can we please stop putting things out there that you have absolutely zero evidence on? And then, can we please stop retweeting, putting it back out there as if it’s true, as if it’s the gospel? It is not true. If you have a question about my future, call me or call Chris Del Conte — our athletic director — and we can set the record straight for you ... [inaudible comment] so, moving forward, when some Joe Blow decides to put something on social media out there, we all don’t run with it like it’s the gospel. Can we all agree on that on this call? And, if you have a question about my future with the University of Texas, ask me on one of these calls, ask Chris Del Conte — he’ll be more than happy to take your call — so that we can set the record straight, so that we can focus on our football team, which is really what we should be doing. Everybody good with that?” Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC), which came in at No. 17 by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee in Tuesday’s rankings reveal, will look to rebound from a 35-10 road loss to Georgia when the Razorbacks visit Austin for the first time since 2008. The Longhorns and Arkansas (2-8, 0-6) will kick off at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. View full news story

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

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

OTF is on the road this morning at Pflugerville Weiss for a quick check in on some of the top youngsters in the state. 2027 WR Tre Moore has been a frequent visitor at Texas and is ranked as the No. 1 WR in the state. 2027 WR Jordan Frohock has a handful of D1 offers. 2026 OL JJ Mays is committed to Texas Tech. Plenty of updates ahead.

Texas was positioned to get the ball back with under four minutes to go in the third quarter of Saturday’s 35-10 loss to Georgia. The Bulldogs lined up for a fourth-and-1 from their own 36. With the Longhorns poised to seize momentum, the championship pedigree of Kirby Smart’s program took it back and held onto it en route to a third win over Steve Sarkisian’s club in 13 months. Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC) cut the Georgia (9-1, 7-1) lead to four points when Arch Manning found Ryan Wingo in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown with 5:27 left in the third quarter. After Gunner Stockton and Chauncey Bowens connected for a 10-yard gain for the first of two fourth-down conversions on a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, a surprise onside kick recovery and a 9-play, 53-yard march to another Bulldog touchdown, Manning and the offense faced a 28-10 deficit when it got back on the field at the 8:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Whether it was losing the line of scrimmage battle, a failure to execute in critical situations, dealing with one self-inflicted wound after another or Smart’s staff winning the chess match against Sarkisian and his assistant coaches, Georgia was better than Texas, across the board, for the third time in as many meetings as SEC foes. For the Longhorns to ascend to the next level as a program, they’ve got to get through the Bulldogs. With Georgia off the regular-season schedule until 2028, the only way Texas will get another crack at the Bulldogs over the next two years is if it reaches the SEC Championship Game. As the fourth quarter unfolded, one in which Texas was outscored (21-0), outgained (119-64) and outclassed, the preseason promise of the Longhorns competing for the SEC title and a national championship faded with every body blow the Bulldogs landed. As things stand, Texas won’t be back in Atlanta and, unless it benefits from a lot of unforeseen good fortune down the stretch, it won’t make a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff. *** One of the reasons why Georgia is a bad matchup for Texas is the athleticism and length the Bulldogs possess up front. Once again, the Bulldogs won the battle at the point of attack in a landslide. Georgia sacked Manning three times, recorded seven tackles for loss and held the Longhorns to just 23 net rushing yards on 17 carries. Even when adjusting rushing yards to exclude sack yardage, 39 yards (2.8 yards per carry) wasn’t close to what Texas needed to achieve much-needed balance on offense. In their three losses to the Bulldogs over the last two seasons, the Longhorns have given up 16 sacks and 32 tackles for loss while mustering just 83 net rushing yards on 72 official attempts (1.15 yards per attempt). Georgia rushed for 128 yards (3.7 yards per attempt), 67 of which came in the fourth quarter, as the Bulldogs once again owned the line of scrimmage. *** The chatter regarding Sarkisian’s struggles against Smart won’t die down. In fact, after Smart pushed all of the right buttons in the second half while Sarkisian’s offense sputtered and the Texas defense wore down, it’ll be louder than ever. Sarkisian has done a lot of good in his five seasons on the Forty Acres. Nevertheless, his head-to-head win over Nick Saban in 2023 is starting to be overshadowed by Sarkisian’s combined 0-7 record against Smart (0-3), Kalen DeBoer (0-2) and Ryan Day (0-2), which account for his seven losses against top-five opponents while leading the Longhorns (1-7 record). Sarkisian’s success over the last two seasons has raised the bar to a championship standard. With that as the backdrop, Saturday’s loss adds even more importance to the regular-season finale against a Texas A&M team expected to roll into DKR with an unblemished 11-0 record. If Sarkisian’s Texas squad goes 0-3 against top-five opponents in 2025 while the Aggies and Oklahoma advance to the CFP (a realistic outcome after the Sooners’ 23-21 road win over Alabama on Saturday), it’ll be a long offseason with a lot of tough questions to answer throughout 2026. *** For the third consecutive meeting between the Longhorns and Georgia, the Bulldogs’ best players outpaced Texas’ top dogs. Manning wasn’t bad (27-for-43, 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception), but Stockton was better (24-for-29, 229 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a rushing touchdown). Although Anthony Hill (six tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and an interception) and Colin Simmons (three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack) made plays, they didn’t dominate the game the way they needed to for the Longhorns to win. *** The final score isn’t a direct reflection of how far Texas is from reaching Georgia’s level as a program. Still, until the Longhorns can hold up better in the trenches, avoid shooting themselves in the foot (nine penalties for 58 yards) and play better situational football (a combined 4-for-15 on third and fourth down; the Bulldogs also went 4-for-4 in the red zone with four touchdowns), they’ll likely continue to suffer the same fate in games of this magnitude. View full news story

Sean Miller Talks 2026 Class *** Texas MBB head coach Sean Miller spoke with the media on Monday, where he was able to share thoughts on his signing day class for the first time. 6–6 CG Bo Ogden – Austin (TX) Westlake High "Bo, I talked about him the other day. Super excited to have Bo. He is going to blaze his own trail at The University of Texas. He had plenty of other great opportunities and choices that he could have taken advantage of. We are thrilled that he decided to stay at home. But Bo's size at 6-foot-6 and his skill level, there aren't a lot of guys who know how to play the game and stand 6-foot-6, who can shoot the ball, pass the ball and do the things that he can do. And I do believe this, I think he has a healthy chip on his shoulder and a toughness about him that will be every bit as important as his jump shot once he is in college." 6–4 CG Joe Sterling – Studio City (Calif.) Harvard Westlake "Joe comes from a winning pedigree. I think the thing that Joe wanted the opportunity to do is to play at the very highest level of college basketball and compete in the SEC. He is somebody that loves the game – he comes from winning pedigree and a winning background, especially at his high school program. He is an excellent shooter and is somebody who could play both guard positions – the one and two." 6–9, C Coleman Elkins – Austin (TX), Blair Academy "Coleman, he really came onto our radar in the summer. Just watching him at Blair Academy, I know that he is an Austin native. There are a lot of ways to build a program – build a championship level program and I think one of the things that we present to him is development. To take the early time here at The University of Texas and to get bigger and stronger, to work every day and get better playing at a very high level in practice. So that you pave the way for one day your time will come. That was more of the conversation with him. But his skill level at 6–8, or 6-foot-9 and where he is today, in a couple of short years, if he is a key contributor to a lot of things here." *** Miller: "We are excited about that group and potentially excited about adding more to it." Obviously, Texas added a commitment and signature from Melissa 6–5 CG Austin Goosby Monday afternoon, improving the class number to four.

A few eye-opening rushing statistics *** Very clearly a main topic of discussion given how this season has gone, but I wanted to set an idea for where things are in the running game currently. Texas rushing stats vs. ranked opponents since the beginning of 2024. Texas has played 13 ranked teams in that time span. Only three times out of the 13 games has Texas averaged 5.0 yards or more. Is that personnel? Is that scheme? Is that the inability or unwillingness to stick with the run before it can figure itself out? I'm not sure. I would bet all of the above. *** Rushing Numbers from SEC Teams in Conference Games 207.0 - Missouri 205.3 - Texas A&M 201.0 - Arkansas 184.3 - Georgia 171.9 - Ole Miss 146.8 - Vanderbilt 138.8 - Tennessee 138.1 - Auburn 131.4 - Kentucky 121.7 - Miss State 115.9 - Florida 108.8 - Oklahoma 102.3 - Alabama 99.0 - LSU 98.0 - South Carolina 71.7 - Texas Texas also has the second fewest amount of rushing attempts per game in conference play at 27.5. Only LSU, at 26.8, has fewer rushing attempts in conference games. Additionally, Texas is dead last in yards per rush in SEC play. Longhorns are averaging only 2.61 yards per attempt in conference play. *** The 1,000-yard rushing streak that has been a feather in the cap of Steve Sarkisian's since becoming a playcaller is more likely than not coming to an end. Leading rusher Quintrevion Wisner has just 375 rush yards this season.

Let’s start with what’s objectively fantastic about Texas hanging on for a 34-31 win over No. 9 Vanderbilt, and that’s the start of the game. The season-saving closing moments of last Saturday’s 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State carried the Longhorns into a game at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the first time in 42 days. With those two factors colliding, I would’ve been disappointed if we didn’t see the most inspired, ready-to-go-from-the-jump version of Steve Sarkisian’s team through nine games. And Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) came out like a house of fire. Less than four minutes into the game, Arch Manning (25-for-33, 328 yards and three touchdowns) and Ryan Wingo (89 yards on two catches before exiting the game with a thumb injury) connected on a 75-yard touchdown, Colin Simmons forced a Diego Pavia fumble on a strip sack and the Longhorns had a 10-0 lead. I wanted Sarkisian to take the ball first (he didn’t get the choice since the Commodores won the toss and deferred their option to the second half). The opportunity to be the aggressor and set the tone the right way could get Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2) on its heels. That’s exactly what happened. The Longhorns never trailed in the latest must-win game of the 2025 season. I couldn’t have envisioned a better start to a victory that keeps the team’s goals of a berth in the SEC title game and a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff alive. *** Manning achieved back-to-back 300-yard passing games for the first time in his career with the most complete sampling of throws we’ve seen from him this season. On quick throws, screens, intermediate passes and the occasional shot down the field beyond 20 yards, Manning completed 10 consecutive passes at one point. While connecting on 22 of his final 27 attempts, Manning was 7-for-9 for 81 yards on third down and six of his completions moved the chains. Manning led Texas to points on six of the offense’s first seven drives, with the Longhorns failing to score only on a two-play drive at the end of the first half. *** Until the end of the game, when Texas was trying to drain the clock and make the Commodores use their timeouts, Sarkisian called the game he needed to call to position the Longhorns for a win. While I might be a prisoner of the moment, I'll say that the vast majority of the Vanderbilt game is up there with last season’s road win over Michigan and the 2023 road win over Alabama as games in which Sarkisian seemed to push all the right buttons on offense at a consistently high level. One of the things I liked was how Sarkisian helped the offensive line, which benefited from the return of Cole Hutson from injury. With Hutson in the lineup at left guard, Texas had the athleticism between Trevor Goosby and Connor Robertson that wasn’t there with either Nick Brooks or Connor Stroh. Sarkisian’s decision to maximize the Longhorns’ advantage on the perimeter with the quick passing game, well-executed screen passes to the running backs and the utilization of pre-snap movement to create a numbers advantage in the running game led to Quintrevion Wisner (75 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries) and C.J. Baxter Jr. (22 yards rushing and a receiving touchdown) rushing for a combined 97 yards on 25 carries. With only one tackle for loss allowed (Clark Lea’s defense came into Saturday’s game averaging 6.8 tackles for loss per game, which ranked 21st nationally) and the defense sacking Pavia six times (only seven sacks allowed through eight games) to go along with 10 tackles for loss, Texas dominated the line of scrimmage against a team that prides itself on winning with a physical, methodical brand of football. The hard-to-stomach final few minutes of the game could push the winning trench effort aside. It shouldn’t, but it’s understandable if it’s hard to see it through the muck of an almost catastrophic fourth quarter. *** The game turned on a play that nearly put the nail in Vanderbilt’s coffin. Manning’s 33-yard touchdown strike to Emmett Mosley V (69 yards and a touchdown on seven catches) was correctly overturned and ruled an incomplete pass. However, the officiating crew failed to call defensive pass interference or defensive holding on cornerback Kolbey Taylor, who had a handful of Mosley’s jersey, restricting his left arm from helping him complete the play. Instead of a touchdown that would’ve put Texas up 40-16 (extra point pending) with 4:09 to go, effectively ending the game, Mason Shipley’s failed field goal try from 51 yards out on the next snap put into motion a forgettable end to an otherwise strong outing. *** Two things are true about the end of the game. I try as hard as I can to leave the officials out of the discussion of how things played out. With that said, I don’t know what else Simmons (five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two hurries and a forced fumble) has to demand more holding calls. Even though Trey Moore (three tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and two hurries) drew one on Vanderbilt’s last possession, it’s hard for me to believe that Simmons’ constant disruption and the Vanderbilt offensive line’s inability to block him couldn’t get him more calls (and I don’t have the that's without getting into the Commodores’ two-point conversion, which was upheld after a review with a flimsy explanation from the replay booth to the ABC crew working the game as to why it stood). Still, there’s no excuse for the breakdowns on the back end, which helped the Commodores nearly pull off an upset that would’ve dashed the Longhorns’ postseason hopes. Pavia, who threw for 365 yards, rushing for 43 and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing and one rushing), went 12-for-16 through the air in the fourth quarter, racked up 205 yards and threw two touchdowns. Vanderbilt averaged 11.3 yards per play in the fourth quarter, went a combined 4-for-5 on third and fourth down and converted a fourth-and-19 from its 2-yard line on a 12-play, 89-yard touchdown drive. Yes, Texas missed Michael Taaffe and Jelani McDonald. But the absence of the two veteran safeties can’t singularly account for the egregious breakdowns in the fourth quarter, which helped make the game closer than it should’ve been. *** While the closing minutes are ripe for criticism, the Longhorns have a top-10 win in their pocket heading into the bye week. Manning seems to be hitting his stride, Sarkisian might’ve found something to help the offense click with AJ Milwee’s move to the press box and the offensive line should come out of Saturday’s win with a little confidence. The most concerning thing coming out of the game is that for two consecutive games against two different passing attacks, the pass defense has been shredded. Texas needs Taaffe and McDonald back in a bad way, but things need to tighten up and get cleaned up. The Longhorns have looked exploitable in SEC play. With Gunnar Stockton (Georgia), Taylen Green (Arkansas) and Marcel Reed (Texas A&M) left on the schedule, the issues on the back end must get resolved with an extra week to prepare for a highly anticipated trip to Athens on Nov. 15. View full news story

Not a surprise, but Texas offered Georgetown OL Kaden Scherer tonight. Scherer, a Stanford commit, is the tentatively scheduled for an official visit next weekend for the Arkansas game.