Cigar smoke was coming from the Texas locker room following their win over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon that came down to the final play.
asserted
that → come → play
The only offense that we really got on a consistent basis Saturday between Tennessee and Texas came when the Secret Service was clearing an area for President Trump to walk through while the national anthem was being played.
asserted
anthem → get → area
A slugfest of wacky proportions played out inside Neyland Stadium, with Arch Manning doing just enough to get his Longhorns out of Knoxville with the win.
asserted
Manning → play → win
The entire morning was filled with anticipation, as the President would finally make his way from the airport to Tennessee's campus for what would turn out to be a first half appearance.
But, it was the Texas defense that showed up for the party with a reckoning on its mind, finishing with ten total sacks, which Steve Sarkisian said led to eight Tennessee players being helped out of the field in what turned out to be another physical SEC game.
asserted
what → fill → field
The Longhorns have now been battle-tested, twice
The Longhorns have the two-best wins in college football this season, after defeating Ohio State just fourteen days ago.
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Longhorns → test → State
Steve Sarkisian, will not apologize for how his team wins, nor should he.
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he → apologize → ?
"For us, we’ve got more of these to go..
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we → get → these
We have 7 ranked opponents we have still yet to play..
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we → have → opponents
That's why I’m not gonna apologize for how we beat a top-15 team on the road, when others don’t even play them," Sarkisian said postgame.
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Sarkisian → go → them
We wondered how the Longhorns would react to a hostile environment, with over 100,000 fans starting to enter the gates in hopes of taking advantage of alcoholic beverages that were 50% off , thanks to the Tennessee athletic department enticing fans to enter the stadium before traffic got out of hand due to Trump's arrival.
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traffic → wonder → arrival
That answer was provided on the defensive side of the ball for Texas throughout the entire game, as Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon scrambled for his life on what felt like every other play for the Vols.
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what → provide → Vols
Heck, Texas' Colin Simmons had five sacks on the day, making life extremely difficult for the Vols freshman QB.
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life → have → QB
If you were under the impression that this Steve Sarkisian led football team wasn’t prepared for their first road trip of the season, you were sorely mistaken.
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you → lead → season
There were some that wrote about how this physical test on the road would be to their detriment.
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test → be → detriment
I guess they aren't watching the same Texas team.
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they → guess → team
This group continues to find ways to win, in the most difficult era of college football.
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group → continue → football
Whether it was on the final play of the game, or holding off an offense on the last series, the Longhorns have figured it out early this season.
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Longhorns → hold → it
Arch Manning might be more chill, but he is continuing to find success
Sure, he might have only thrown for 127 yards in the first half, taking a 10-3 lead into halftime.
uncertain
he → continue → halftime
But, that didn’t stop him from finding pockets of success in the second half, which kept his team ahead when the final whistle blew.
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whistle → stop → team
And yes, Manning only finished the game with 201 yards passing with zero touchdowns, but he put Texas in a position to win once again.
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he → finish → position
Whether it was Cam Coleman or Ryan Wingo, Tennessee did not seem to have an answer for the talented pair on a consistent basis, which came back to bite the Vols during the second half.
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which → seem → half
Seven total sacks for the Texas defense also kept the Vols offense in check for a majority of the game.
What a monster win for the Longhorns, while Tennessee looks like they have problems.
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they → keep → problems
This was the first road test, and they passed.
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they → pass → ?
At the end of the day, when Texas boards the plane home for Austin, that's all that matters for this team.
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that → board → team
We can talk about some of the sloppy offensive line play, or the weird unsportsmanlike penalty on Colin Simmons, but that's just noise right now.
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that → talk → Simmons
What we witnessed on Saturday afternoon was two teams who are still working out the glitches.
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who → witness → glitches
The problem for Tennessee is that they do not have a veteran starter, while Arch Manning is finding different ways to get his squad into the end zone.
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Manning → have → zone
All the while, Texas once again proved they might be the best overall team in college football in one of the hardest places to play in this sport.
uncertain
they → prove → sport
As the equipment staff began loading the truck for its ride back to Texas, you can hear the noise coming from inside the Longhorns locker room.
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noise → begin → room
"We're the real UT, so they can stop talking," one player said aloud.
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player → stop → ?
On Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, this Texas team once again proved it could find another way to win.
uncertain
it → prove → way
But, in the end, it still came down to their defense.
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it → come → defense
You don't rack up 12 sacks on an SEC opponent without having a stellar group on that side of the ball.
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You → rack → ball
Maybe we should be talking more about the unit who has provided four wins on the season, with two against Top-15 teams.
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who → talk → teams
It's easy to get lost in Arch.
asserted
It → lose → Arch
We might wanna get used to this defense.
uncertain
We → get → defense
The Aporia
