Previewing Michigan vs. Texas with a Longhorns insider

By Clayton Sayfie

TheWolverine.com caught up with Texas writer Joe Cook of Inside Texas ahead of Wednesday’s matchup between the Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines football in the Citrus Bowl. Cook broke down Texas and offered a final score prediction. We begin with the projected starting lineup for the Longhorns.

Texas projected starters on offense

• #16 – Redshirt sophomore QB Arch Manning (6-4, 219) — The nephew of NFL legends Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, he’s completed 61.4 percent of his passes (227-of-370) for 2,942 yards and 24 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Manning has added 83 rush attempts for 244 yards and 8 scores. Manning has been sacked 23 times and under pressure on 37.9 percent of his dropbacks. Manning has been successful on deep passes this season, connecting on 24 throws of 20-plus air yards to rank tied 21st in the country. Eleven of his 24 touchdowns have come on those passes. Texas will use Manning on designed runs, having done so 3.8 times per game in the regular season. He’s averaging 3.2 yards per rush on those and 9 yards per attempt on 24 scrambles with 27 total first-down runs.

• #6 – Redshirt freshman RB Christian Clark (6-0, 212) — With the team’s top two leading rushers from the running back spot, Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter Jr., planning to enter the transfer portal, Clark and others will have to pick up the slack. Clark has rushed 35 times for 139 yards and a touchdown this season, with his career high coming in a 55-0 win over Sam Houston State Sept. 20, when he rushed for 62 yards and a score on 13 attempts.

• #1 – Sophomore WR Ryan Wingo (6-2, 214) — The second-team All-SEC standout leads the team with 50 catches for 770 yards and 7 touchdowns in 12 games. His average depth of target is 13.2 yards, and he’s registering 8.2 yards after the catch per reception. Wingo has seen 6 of his 50 overall catches and 3 of his 7 touchdown grabs come on passes of 20-plus air yards. He’s dropped a team-worst 7 passes.

• #13 – Redshirt freshman WR Parker Livingstone (6-4, 191) — Hauled in 26 receptions for 491 yards and 6 touchdowns. A deep threat, Livingstone has made 7 catches on passes of 20-plus air yards, and over half of his receptions (15) have come on throws of 10-plus air yards.

• #3 – Sophomore WR Emmett Mosley V (6-2, 210) — Will potentially slide into a starting spot at slot receiver with DeAndre Moore Jr. opted out. He’s caught 23 passes for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns in eight contests.

• #88 – Junior TE Jack Endries (6-4, 236) — Made 28 catches for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns, while grading out at 70.0 in run blocking on PFF.

• #74 – Sophomore LT Trevor Goosby (6-7, 312) — Started 13 career contests. He has an 83.6 overall PFF grade — ranking third among SEC tackles with 100-plus offensive snaps — with an 82.5 rating in run blocking and 78.6 in pass protection. He’s allowed 16 pressures and 3 sacks on the season.

• #54 – Senior LG Cole Hutson (6-5, 308) — Opened 22 career games, including nine this season, five at center and four at left guard. He has a 61.5 overall PFF rating with 20 pressures and 2 sacks given up in pass protection.

• #62 – Junior C Connor Robertson (6-4, 312) — The first-year starter has opened seven career tilts, registering a 65.2 overall PFF grade on the season. He’s given up 12 pressures with no sacks.

• #52 – Senior RG DJ Campbell (6-3, 321) — With 28 career starts, Campbell has posted a 72.6 overall PFF grade this season. He’s yielded 18 pressures with 1 sack in pass protection.

• #73 – Sophomore RT Brandon Baker (6-4, 308) — The first-year starter has opened all 12 games so far this season, generating a 64.8 overall PFF grade. He hasn’t allowed a sack all year, but has given up 23 pressures.

Texas projected starters on defense

• #93 – Senior DT Hero Kanu (6-5, 299) — The Ohio State transfer has recorded 30 tackles, including 4 for loss and 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup and 17 quarterback pressures.

• #97 – Sophomore DT Alex January (6-5, 308) — Recorded 16 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks, along with 1 pass breakup and 6 pressures.

• #1 – Sophomore EDGE Colin Simmons (6-3, 240) — The first-team All-SEC honoree ranks second in the conference with 11 sacks, adding 13.5 tackles for loss, 41 total stops, 2 pass breakups, 15 quarterback hurries and 54 pressures. A problem for opposing offensive tackles, Simmons has recorded 7 pressures in each of his last two games, wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M.

• #91 – Senior EDGE Ethan Burke (6-6, 259) — Registered 40 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble and 2 blocked kicks this season. He’s added 27 pressures as a pass rusher. Burke has 26.5 total tackles for loss in his career.

• #26 – Sophomore LB Ty’Anthony Smith (6-1, 216) — Opening just one game this season, Smith is slated to step into a starting role with Anthony Hill Jr., Trey Moore and Liona Lefau all opted out. He’s fifth on the team with 51 tackles, adding 4.5 for loss, 2 sacks and 1 pass breakup. He’s posted 7 pressures as a pass rusher and has a 42.1 PFF coverage rating.

• #30 – Freshman LB Elijah ‘Bo’ Barnes (6-1, 244) — Appeared in just three games this season, retaining his redshirt, but will have to step into a more prominent role due to a corps that’s thinned out. He’s made 1 tackle on the year, totaling 24 defensive snaps.

• #29 – Freshman NB Graceson Littleson (6-0, 180) — Tallied 41 tackles, including 4 for loss, 2 interceptions and 5 pass breakups. He has a 68.5 PFF coverage grade and has allowed 38 receptions for 388 yards and 2 touchdowns on 57 targets.

• #11 – Freshman CB Kade Phillips (6-0, 190) — Appeared in 11 games, registering 14 tackles and 5 pass breakups. He has a 75.0 PFF coverage grade to rank second on the team and first among available players, giving up 7 catches for 59 yards and 1 touchdown on 13 targets.

• #6 – Sophomore CB Kobe Black (6-2, 199) — Totaled 13 tackles and 1 interception in 10 games. He has a 64.1 PFF coverage rating, yielding 10 catches for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 targets.

• #4 – Junior S Jelani McDonald (6-2, 199) — Leads the team with 73 tackles, with 4 of those coming behind the line of scrimmage, has picked off 3 passes, broken up 3 and had 1 quarterback hurry. He’s generated a 70.1 PFF coverage grade, giving up 19 receptions for 189 yards and 1 touchdown on 36 targets.

• #17 – Sophomore S Xavier Filsaime (6-1, 194) — Expected to earn more playing time with star Michael Taaffe opted out after declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. Totaling 227 defensive snaps in nine contests this season, Filsaime has made 15 tackles and a pass breakup. He’s recorded a 66.9 PFF coverage grade and allowed 3 catches for 39 yards on 5 targets.

Texas specialists

• #49 – Senior K Mason Shipley (6-0, 187) — Went 18-of-22 on field goals during the regular season, with a 53-yard long. He’s made 17 of his 18 attempts within 50 yards and is 1-of-4 from 50-plus. The Texas State transfer’s career long is 60 yards, connecting on one of that distance in a loss to Sam Houston State as a member of his previous program in 2024.

• #19 – Senior P Jack Bouwmeester (6-3, 209) — The Bendigo, Australia, native is averaging 44.7 yards per punt on 55 attempts, inducing 20 fair catches, pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line 22 times and launching 14 kicks of 50-plus yards. His 4.06-second average hangtime ranks ninth in the SEC.

• #21 – Sophomore PR/KR Ryan Niblett (5-10, 187) — Returned 10 kicks with a 19.8-yard average and 25-yard long. He’s brought back 19 punts, averaging 23.6 yards per attempt (second nationally) with 2 touchdowns (tied third).

Arch Manning’s season arc

Manning struggled mightily at the beginning of the year, after entering the season as the favorite to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy, according to the Vegas Sportsbooks. He finally got going toward the end of September, though, and made steady progress throughout. He’s back for another season of college football next season, when the hype will probably be more warranted.

“Manning had a game that looked like ‘yup, first career road start’ against an Ohio State defense that turned out to be possibly the best in college football,” Cook said. “Granted, [Ohio State defensive coordinator] Matt Patricia and [Texas head coach and offensive play caller] Steve Sarkisian both weren’t really firing everything they had at each other, and Texas’ seven points could have been 21 with a few more converted opportunities. A goal line stuff and a missed fourth down kept the Longhorns at seven.

“Then, he had a decent San Jose State game before he put one of the worst quarterback starts in recent memory together against UTEP. He had a stretch where he missed 10 throws in a row. But, a closer look at that game revealed he wasn’t so much ‘seeing ghosts’ as just being sped up in his process despite making good decisions.

“He actually played fairly well versus Florida, but most observers just saw ‘Texas lost, Manning two interceptions, he must have stunk.’ He had pretty much no protection and the fact the Longhorns lost by eight was a testament to his play.

“He had up games (Oklahoma) down games (Kentucky) and then an all-out comeback blitz that probably had Mississippi State fans wondering why they had to lose to another Manning. He really took off in the month of November, save for a Georgia game where the issues were more game-management related (and [Georgia head coach] Kirby Smart thrashing Steve Sarkisian on the headsets) than anything he did wrong.

“Manning finished the season with great performances against Arkansas and Texas A&M, and with him coming back next season, is looking like a player who Texas can point to when thinking about its 2026 prospects and when recruiting in the portal.”

The Texas offense

Texas ranks 49th nationally with 29.6 points per game, 73rd in total offense (382.8 yards per game), 101st in rushing offense (129.7 yards per game) and 43rd in passing offense (253.2 yards per game).

“The strength is Arch Manning and his left tackle Trevor Goosby,” Cook explained. “After Kelvin Banks went in the first round of the 2025 draft, Goosby stepped into his place and there’s not been much of a drop-off. Manning also is succeeding in Texas’ offense. He’s been accurate, he’s made good throws downfield, and Sarkisian has utilized him as a runner well.

“The weakness is running the football. The O-line has not been good on the interior, mainly at center and at left guard. That’s been moderately rectified by Cole Hutson moving the left guard and Connor Robertson playing center, but it’s been where teams have tried to attack most this year.”

The Texas defense

The Texas defense has been hit with several key opt-outs, just as Michigan will be without standouts on that side of the football. That changes the equation, as does a mid-December coordinator change. Pete Kwiatkowski has been removed from his post, Will Muschamp has been hired for next season but linebackers coach Johnny Nansen will call the plays.

“Texas is going to be without six significant contributors and/or starters on defense,” Cook said. “They will have weakside edge Colin Simmons, who has been disruptive all season. The Texas defensive line has put more great performances together than bad ones with (weak to strongside) Simmons, Cole Brevard, Hero Kanu and Ethan Burke playing great football. Backups have succeeded, too, like Alex January, Lance Jackson, and Brad Spence.

“The weakness is going to be in the second and third level as Texas is cycling in a number of players, mainly at linebacker, without a ton of experience. True freshman Elijah Barnes is in line for a lot of snaps. No matter who is calling plays for Michigan, that’s going to be a tough first extended assignment. The most snaps he saw this year was against Arkansas.”

Cook’s final score prediction

“I see Texas’ offense scoring what it needs to and I think clock will run in this game to where the possessions are low,” Cook began. “I’m curious how much is asked of Bryce Underwood in a ‘this is a springboard for the offseason’ type game but for an offseason with a lot of remaining questions for the Maize and Blue.”
Prediction: Texas 27, Michigan 24