Battle OF The UT's / Texas Longhorns LIVE 120

Texas Longhorns LIVE 120 — Battle of the UTs Hosts: Matthew Miller & Tommy Bresee | Guest: Tucker Harlin (TennesseeVOCFB / Vols Wire / CFB HQ on SI / VOCFB 365) Texas vs. Tennessee preview + UTSA recap | Neyland Stadium, noon kickoff Intro & setup (0:00–1:54) Tommy opens Texas Longhorns Live #120. Matt joining shortly. Special guest Tucker Harlin from the Tennessee channel for the first Texas-Tennessee meeting in 57 years and first at either home venue. Noon game at Neyland (not a typical night environment). Tucker will be there in person. Discussion of scheduling quirks (LSU-A&M night slot, potential Alabama-Mississippi State noon + College GameDay the following week). Tucker interview: What we know about Tennessee after 3 weeks (1:54–6:00) Tennessee has faced two relative layups plus Georgia Tech. Defense looks better than last year and more like a competent SEC unit. Offense remains a mystery — they have not had to open the playbook much and have leaned heavily on the run when they have a clear line advantage. Preseason expectation: 8–9 wins and building toward 2027 with true freshman QB Faison Brandon. Still attainable. Circled games: Texas, Texas A&M (now looking more winnable), Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina on the road (bad history). Eight or nine wins plus a sneak-in CFP path remains possible. Ethan Davis injury & tight end room (6:00–8:10) Ethan Davis (converted WR) went down in the Georgia Tech game (limped off in the fourth). Big loss in the receiving game. DeSean Brame is now the primary receiving threat at TE. Blocking-oriented options remain (Trent Thomas, Drake Martinez). Room has talent but is unproven. Miles Kitzelman was more of a locker-room guy last year; Davis was supposed to be the upgrade. Tennessee defense & confidence vs Texas (8:10–10:20) Tucker feels better about the defense than the offense. DL more aggressive than expected. Linebackers (Arion Carter, Jeremiah T. Lander) rotating to edge. Secondary has not given up many big plays (Dajon Lane pick-six vs Georgia Tech). Has not faced a high-upside QB like Arch Manning yet. Secondary was poor vs UAB last year. Baptism-by-fire SEC opener for Brandon. Tennessee offensive line (10:20–13:00) Right side is the concern (right guard rotation between Donovan Haslam and Shane Mumarov). Jesse Perry (moved to RT) has graded well and was a bright spot last year. Left side more settled: Wendell Moy (when healthy) and David Sanders Jr. Tucker calls Sanders Tennessee’s best OL since Trey Smith — strong tape even against lesser DLs. Colin Simmons’ health is a major Texas concern; if limited, pass rush drops off (Zina Umeozulu next man up). Faison Brandon’s legs & RB room (13:00–16:40) Tennessee is less RPO-heavy than Texas and closer to its veer-and-shoot roots, but they have schemed more designed QB runs. Brandon is a natural runner (“runs like a deer”) and the best since Josh Dobbs. Expect some improv scrambles if the OL is challenged. Designed runs may be limited. RB room: DeShaun Bishop is the known name; DeJuan Morris has emerged. Javon Gordon another piece (held out last week). Tennessee ran 45 times for 299 yards vs Georgia Tech and did not want to throw. Confidence if Texas takes the run away and puts it on Brandon is an unknown — Saturday will reveal it. Fill-in-the-blank: Tennessee wins/loses if… (16:40–19:20) Loses if they let Arch Manning get in rhythm (run or pass). Tennessee has historically struggled with dual-threat QBs (Diego Pavia last year). Need to throw him off balance. Wins if they win the interior DL battle (Xavier Gilliam athletic, David Hobbs mobile) vs Texas center Connor Robertson and confuse Manning. Heupel’s offense is built to make life easy for the QB (screens, quick game, downhill run). Defense could make or break the game. Names Texas fans may not know (19:20–21:00) Defense: Xavier Gilliam (interior DL). Offense: Radarius Jackson (emerging WR3 with a few nice deep catches). Other weapons (Bishop, Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley) are already known. Predictions (21:00–22:20) Tucker: Competitive but Texas wins 27-21 (does not cover). Do not let the loss spiral like after Georgia last year. Tommy: 27-20 Texas. Four-quarter battle decided by a couple of late plays; leans Arch over Brandon. Matthew: 24-20 Texas. Tucker plugs & history notes (22:20–25:00) @TuckerHarlan on X (posted Texas-Tennessee history). General Neyland was a Texan (Aggie). Rick Barnes departure helped Tennessee basketball. YouTube: Mondays 8 ET with Jordan Binkley on Tennessee VOCFB; Tuesdays with Tyler Natuno; SEC show with Jackson Johnson & Andrew Miller. Vols Wire recruiting coverage; CFPHQ on SI. Hosting visitors this weekend. UTSA recap & Arch Manning discussion (25:00–32:40) Focus on Arch: Is he okay? Panic is understandable after pressure and some old habits returned when the OL got beat. Tommy’s view: last year’s poor OL forced bad habits; he reverted when he saw pressure Saturday. Trust the process — better OL and WRs around him. He made big progress last year; expect more this year. Not expecting lights-out vs Tennessee but a relatively clean, confidence-building road SEC game. Matthew: Close to the 8–23 game “who he is” line for young QBs (Burrow/Luck/Young comps). Next 1–3 games (Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida) will tell a lot. Still thinks a national title is possible even without a massive leap if pieces around him help. Drops (Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman, Emmett Mosley) must be cleaned up. Colin Simmons health critical for pass rush. Derek Williams filled in well at CB. Positive for Arch vs Tennessee: Jim Knowles likes three-high safety looks that give cushion. Decisive QBs who get the ball out beat that defense. If Arch hits the back of his drop and delivers, it could be a turning-point game. Keys to beating Tennessee on the road (32:40–end) Tommy Take the crowd out early. Neyland is one of the best environments; noon helps but explosives and turnovers will wake it up. Start fast (team superpower). No huge sacks or momentum plays. Run the ball: 30 carries, 3.5 YPC (~105–115 yards). Stick with 3–4 yard gains; set up play-action and keep Tennessee’s offense on the sideline. Exploit athletic but not massive DT group with gap schemes. Force Faison Brandon to beat you. Load the box, stop the run, keep him in the pocket. Make him complete 7–10 passes on multiple drives. Elite man coverage on wide-split WRs (Bo Masco, Grayson Littleton, Kate Phillips). Tackle well in space. DT dominance vs Tennessee’s interior (especially RG). Justice Terry or Nick Townsend if available. Slide Colin Simmons inside on obvious passing downs. Move numbers around pre-snap to confuse the freshman. Matthew Capitalize on likely Tennessee turnovers (young QB + questionable OL). Score TDs, not FGs. Same run-game and “make Brandon beat you with his arm” emphasis. Not at the point in his career where you respect the passing game first. Trust the process for Arch: OL (Dylan Sikorski leap), Sarkisian getting WRs open, get the ball out. Personal comfort (Holly Rowe covering the game) mentioned as a possible off-field help. Overall lean: Texas defense (Pete Kwiatkowski) should play championship-level football against a true freshman in a loud but noon environment. Championship-caliber unit, not just a big-game winner. Show close: Live Tuesdays 7 ET (this one earlier for Tucker). Best bets Thursday. Postgame after Tennessee ~3:15–3:30 ET. Hook ’em. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.