Colin Simmons, Raleek Brown lead No. 1 Texas to SEC-opening road win over No. 14 Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - At least this Saturday, " the real UT " was Texas.

Colin Simmons entered the Texas football record books with a five-sack performance, and Raleek Brown scored twice as the No. 1-ranked Longhorns earned a 20-17 win over No. 14 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. The three-point victory was recorded in the Longhorns' SEC opener.

The Volunteers made things interesting after a touchdown with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining in regulation cut the Texas lead to three. Tennessee then covered an on-side kick. But a last-second Hail Mary was knocked away by Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald in the end zone.

The Tennessee triumph also sends Texas (4-0, 1-0) into its bye on a high note. The Longhorns are off until their annual rivalry game Oct. 10 against Oklahoma in Dallas. Tennessee (3-1, 0-1) will host Auburn next week.

Texas gets off to a quick start... and then stalls

Texas opened the game with the football, and the Longhorns used seven plays to march down the field. Manning converted 5-, 8- and 43-yard passes along the way before Raleek Brown ended the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Good starts on the road against a ranked opponent had been something that had eluded Texas in recent years. Over the previous three seasons, the Longhorns had been hosted by six ranked opponents. On their first drives in those six games, UT was held to one field goal while averaging 8.3 plays and 31.7 yards per game-opening possession.

Sept. 9, 2023 at No. 3 Alabama : 7 plays, 27 yards (punt)

Sept. 7, 2024 at No. 10 Michigan : 13 plays, 51 yards (missed field goal)

Oct. 26, 2024 at No. 25 Vanderbilt: 5 plays, 17 yards (interception)

Nov. 30, 2024 at No. 20 Texas A&M: 3 plays, 3 yards (punt)

Aug. 30, 2025 at No. 3 Ohio State: 9 plays, 33 yards (turnover on downs)

Nov. 15, 2025 at No. 5 Georgia: 13 plays, 59 yards (field goal)

Texas did not return to the end zone in the first half. The Longhorns eventually took a 10-3 lead into halftime after Tennessee's Cooper Ranvier and Texas' Gianni Spetic exchanged field goals.

Texas compiled 147 yards over 27 first-half plays. Manning threw an interception at Tennessee's 4-yard line during a first half that featured a strange unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that was called after Simmons simulated himself urinating after a sack .

As Colin Simmons makes history, Texas shuts down Tennessee

The Texas offense continued to struggle after the halftime break and went three-and-out on its first offensive possession of the second half. A sack of Manning brought punter Mac Chiumento onto the field, and his 48-yard punt was returned by Tennessee's Qua Moss for a game-tying touchdown. That 57-yard highlight accounted for the first touchdown scored on a punt return against Texas since Jeff Scott did so for Ole Miss in 2013.

Texas quickly regained the lead when Spetic kicked a 44-yard field goal with 9 minutes left in the third quarter. Brown then secured the victory on a 4-yard touchdown run with 5:41 left.

Defensively, Texas dominated a Tennessee that had scored 143 points in its first three games against Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State. The Volunteers were limited to 151 passing yards and 70 rushing yards.

The Texas pass rush recorded 10 sacks and harassed Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon all afternoon. Five of those sacks belonged to Simmons, who tied a school record that Shane Dronett set in 1990 at Texas Tech.