Forget anonymous critic, No. 1 Texas Longhorns have shown they're far from soft | Golden

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Keep on questioning the Texas Longhorns .

Tell a journalist they can't win in tough environments?

In the moments after Saturday's 20-17 win over No. 14 Tennesse e before 109,915 fans at raucous Neyland Stadium, the No. 1-ranked Horns took aim at their haters, particularly one anonymous coach who questioned the team's toughness in an interview with The Athletic .

"They look the part. They're fast. They can bend but they don't have an edge to them. They're soft everywhere," that coach said.

Soft teams don't beat Ohio State and Tennessee in a span of three weeks. Soft teams don't lead all Power Four teams with 16 conference wins since 2023. Soft teams don't find a way to shut down one of the nation's most vaunted rushing attacks on the road on the same day they commit 11 penalties.

"I'm not sure who wrote the article today and what coach said we weren't a physical football team," Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. "(They) may want to write another article."

With a much-needed bye week coming up, Texas is 4-0 for the second time in three seasons and while its offensive struggles are out there for all to see, the collective stood shoulder to shoulder to deliver their first road win over a ranked SEC opponent since they beat Texas A&M in College Station in 2024. They'll be a double-digit bet to spank Oklahoma in two weeks before a tough gantlet against resurgent Florida , high scoring Ole Miss and the comeback kids from Mississippi State .

The Longhorns are far from a finished product. But it would be a mistake to question their resolve. Sure, they haven't been as explosive despite spending a football's Fort Knox on some high-priced transfers.

Yeah, that offensive line resembled five 300-pound blocks of Swiss cheese as quarterback Arch Manning ran for his life in Knoxville. And yes, they commit more penalties at times than an insider trader before The Bell.

Somehow, the officials allowed an onside kick that looked more like a drop kick. That led to Texas' defense having to defend a Hail Mary pass into the end zone that never should have happened, according to former NFL referee Terry McAulay , who's now a rules analyst on NBC.

But the Longhorns are tough. Proven. Resilient.

Texas offensive line had protection struggles

Manning, who has taken a beaten in some social media circles, took a physical pounding in the Scruffy City as he was on the receiving end of six sacks. Undaunted, Texas' QB1 stood tall and still completed 14 of 19 passes on a day when he could have used some of President Trump's security detail up front. The Volunteers took big shots at him when he decided to bail out of the pocket, but Manning never buckled under the pressure.

Those bruises will heal soon enough and by the time the Longhorns take the field against Oklahoma in Dallas, they'll still be atop the national rankings.

Two weeks after they climbed out of a Royal-Memorial Stadium grave by scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to hand Ohio State its first loss , the Horns opened SEC play Saturday with a grind-it-out, well-earned win in one of the league's most hostile road environments. They showed more mettle than a coal miner who had just requested more overtime after a 60-hour work week.

When a team can send more than 109,000 fans and the sitting U.S. president home disappointed in the final result - Trump had picked the Volunteers to win, received two loud ovations when he appeared on the Neyland Stadium scoreboard and still went home with an L - it's a testament to what's swimming around in its gut.

Texas felt challenged and rose to the moment

Texas defensive tackle Hero Kanu is one of the most likable players on this roster, but he didn't go all Mayberry RFD when the question of Texas' toughness, or a perceived lack thereof, came up after the game.

"We were challenged," Kanu said. "They told us we weren't physical or something like that. We had to show them. I don't know how many rushing yards they had, but it was definitely not 298."

Kanu was referring to the vaunted Tennessee run game, which came in averaging 298.67 yards, which ranked fourth in the country. Texas held the Volunteers to 228 yards under that average while edge rusher Colin Simmons unleashed a sacks tirade with a school record-tying five. Simmons went from two sacks in the first three games to leading the country with seven before the night games started.

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It didn't come without controversy. Simmons celebrated his second sack in the second quarter by simulating taking a bathroom break on the finely manicured grass near the end zone, turning what would been a fourth-and-29 situation into a momentum-changing first down that woke up the Volunteers.

In the interview room, Simmons thanked God, apologized and chalked up his actions to the emotion of the moment.

There has to be a measure of comfort for a struggling offense in knowing if it can produce a couple of touchdowns and a couple of field goals, there's still a chance that he defense will hold it down for the win.

"If they can get us 20 points, there's no reason for us losing," Kanu said. "Our defense is going to step up on days like this."

This is a team with issues that need fixing. It's a work in progress that retains a nice bit of upside as it gets ready for the reeling Sooners followed by five consecutive games against ranked teams.

The Horns don't always look like world beaters, but they show up for the fight.