Bio Blast: Texas Longhorns

September stood out as a huge month for the Kentucky football program because of what was on the schedule in October. The Wildcats could not afford to get off to a slow start. Well, they got off a slow start thanks to losses to Ole Miss and South Carolina. The Cats are behind the eight-ball.

Following the final bye week of the season, UK sits at 2-3 (0-3) and will face yet another ranked team on Saturday night at Kroger Field. The Texas Longhorns are coming to the Bluegrass for the first time. This year’s first Keeneland-Kentucky double-dip is a unique one.

Former Washington and USC head coach Steve Sarkisian is now in year five at Texas and has led this program to the national semifinals in each of the last two seasons. The Horns opened the season at No. 1 but might just need to win out to make the College Football Playoff in 2025 after taking two losses in September.

Kentucky is drawing Texas in a rivalry hangover spot but this is a team that still has everything to play for with no more wiggle room. Sarkisian’s latest team is winning with defense.

Texas is elite on defense again

When I sat down to write this same post last year ahead of Kentucky’s matchup with Texas in Austin, the Horns ranked No. 2 overall in ESPN’s SP+ defensive rankings behind only Ohio State. Less than one year later, they rank No. 1 overall just ahead of Ohio State. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski quickly started pumping out top-15 defenses in Austin. This year is no different.

Texas put the clamps on both Ohio State and Oklahoma. Florida found some success (27 offensive points in 12 drives) but no one else has scored more than 14 points against this unit. This is looks like the best defense in the SEC again.

• Points Per Drive: 0.92 (No. 3 overall)
• EPA/Play: -0.23 (No. 6 overall)
• Yards Per Play: 4.21 (No. 9 overall)
• Success Rate: 35.7% (No. 18 overall)
• Third Down Conversions: 30.23% (No. 18 overall)
• Takeaways: 12 (No. 11 overall)

Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was a second-team All-American last season. The former five-star recruit has been outstanding with 37 tackles (only one missed tackle) and two forced fumbles. Safety Michael Taaffe was also a second-team All-American last season. He’s also been terrific with 41 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one interception. EDGE Colin Simmons has become a highly productive pass rusher (18 pressures, four sacks) as expected. Malik Muhammad (11 tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions) is playing like an All-SEC cornerback while true freshman cornerback Graceson Littleton (17 tackles, two pass breakups, two interceptions) looks like a star.

Texas is a sound and good tackling defense with star power at all three levels. Kentucky’s offense will have a massive challenge on Saturday night.

Arch Mania has not produced great offensive results

The wait finally ended in 2025. A Manning was going to be a starting quarterback in the SEC again. Arch Manning finally took over at Texas after spending the last two seasons behind Quinn Ewers. It has been up-and-down for the former five-star recruit but he is coming off his best two performances of the season. The real story is that the offense in totality is performing way below expectations.

Steve Sarkisian has a reputation for being one of the best play callers in college football but the Horns currently have the program’s worst offense since 2017. This might be Sarkisian’s worst offense since he was at Washington from 2009-13.

• Points Per Drive: 2.49 (No. 51 overall)
• Yards Per Play: 5.97 (No. 52 overall)
• Third Down Conversions: 39.51% (No. 75 overall)
• Red Zone Touchdown Percentage: 58.33% (No. 90 overall)
• Success Rate: 40.6% (No. 92 overall)
• EPA/Play: -0.02 (No. 96 overall)

Manning has done some good things (63% completion rate, 8.1 yards per attempt, 239 non-sack rushing yards, 17 total touchdowns) but turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles) and protection (43.9% pressure rate allowed) have been massive issues. No player outside of Manning has more than 200 rushing yards as this offense has become very one-dimensional. That has ultimately led to plenty of quick possessions.

Texas has a lot of issues on offense. Starting tailback Quintrevion Wisner has returned to the lineup and that helped against Oklahoma (22 carries, 94 yards) but the passing game has been disappointing and the offensive line has major issues.

Texas is struggling on offense. The Horns have only scored more than three offensive touchdowns once this season.

Dangerous kick returner

The biggest play of the game for Texas in the win over Oklahoma occurred in the fourth quarter with 10 minutes left to play. A huge play on special teams turned a one-possession game into a double-digit win for the Longhorns.

CLUTCH PUNT RETURN TD FROM RYAN NIBLETT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dVfI1GYiWx

— ESPN (@espn) October 11, 2025

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Niblett has played defensive back, running back, and tailback during his three seasons in Austin. The former top-100 recruit from Houston has found a permanent home as a returner. Niblett is averaging 22.4 yards per kick return and 21.6 yards per punt return while periodically receiving touches on offense.

Niblett is a first-year returner who is making a splash. Texas has been rock-solid in the kicking game to start the season and the potential All-SEC return specialist is a big reason why. This becomes a very important area of the game for a team that is struggling to score on offense.