Don’t get caught up too much in the Arch Manning headlines for Tennessee‘s showdown with Texas.
Yes, he has a recognizable last name as the nephew of iconic Vols quarterback Peyton Manning. He also has a five-star pedigree and a signature win over Ohio State. And he’s the most famous player in college football.
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Arch Manning is a good college quarterback, but he’s far from perfect. In fact, there’s angst in Austin over his accuracy issues and inconsistency as the 13th-ranked Vols (3-0) prepare to play No. 1 Texas (3-0) on Sept. 26 (noon ET, ABC) at Neyland Stadium.
Putting Arch Manning aside, Tennessee‘s bigger concern in this matchup should be the Texas defense. It’s allowed three touchdowns all season and just 12 points per game under coordinator Will Muschamp, a familiar foe for the Vols.
The Longhorns are loaded with projected NFL draft picks. That talent “gives them a lot of freedom do a lot of different things from pressure to coverage to rotation,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said at his weekly press conference on Sept. 21.
An aggressive defensive coordinator, talented players and the stingy victory over previous No. 1 Ohio State have the Vols’ full attention and respect.
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“Texas obviously is battle-tested, a very veteran group,” Heupel said. “(It has) a ton of experience on the defensive side of the football, extremely athletic. (This) will be a great test.”
What Tennessee thought of Texas defense from game film
The Texas defense is very good at every level. And the first glimpses of game film made that evident to Tennessee players.
“(Blocking the Longhorns) is going to require our best,” right tackle Jesse Perry said.
Edge rusher Colin Simmons, a projected top-10 draft pick, anchors a dominant defensive line. Perry said the Longhorns have big players that are really fast and lighter players that are really powerful. In other words, there are no perceivable weaknesses up front.
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At linebacker, Rasheem Biles is a preseason All-American and a ball hawk who’s caused three turnovers in three games. And the Texas secondary has been stingy in limiting long pass plays.
Texas held Ohio State to 3 yards per rush. It held UTSA to only nine first downs. And it has allowed just four pass plays of longer than 20 yards this season.
“And there haven’t been a lot of runs that have popped off (against Texas),” Heupel added.
Will Muschamp vs. Josh Heupel is a familiar matchup
The opposing play-callers also will have an impact on this game.
Defenses directed or heavily influenced by Muschamp have had success against Heupel’s offenses across decades at multiple schools. However, it hasn’t always been a clearcut head-to-head coaching matchup.
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Muschamp was Georgia’s co-defensive coordinator when the Bulldogs held Heupel’s Tennessee offense in check for a 27-13 win in 2022 and 38-10 win in 2023. The Vols scored only one Jaylen Wright touchdown in each of those games.
As a defensive-minded head coach at South Carolina, Muschamp’s teams beat Missouri 31-21 in 2016 and 31-13 in 2017 when Heupel was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator. Heupel’s offense scored only four touchdowns and committed six turnovers in those two games.
There were indirect matchups in 2008-10, when Muschamp was Texas’ defensive coordinator and Heupel was Oklahoma‘s quarterbacks coach. Texas won twice, and Oklahoma won once.
Heupel’s quarterbacks passed for 1,016 yards in those three games, including Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and current UT offensive analyst Landry Jones. But Muschamp’s defense held the Sooners to only 156 yards rushing on 100 carries, or 1.56 yards per rush.
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“You kind of have a general idea of (Texas’ defensive) identity and their personnel,” Heupel said. “(But) when you get into conference play, you know you’re going to see something that’s not on film, too. You’ve got to be able to adjust.”
How Texas won’t make it easy on Faizon Brandon
Tennessee has an extra degree of difficulty because it’s relying on freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon to outmaneuver the Texas defense in his first SEC game.
Brandon needs to connect on deep passes. But Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, the best receiver in college football, is the only player to catch deep balls against Texas so far. UTSA attempted only one pass beyond 10 yards in a 30-6 loss to Texas.
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When asked about the matchup, wide receiver Braylon Staley said Brandon is up for the challenge.
“This is why he came to Tennessee,” Staley said. “To play teams like this, to play the best of the best.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: This Texas headliner is bigger concern for Tennessee football than QB Arch Manning
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