Skip to main content
Texas

Another year, another elite Texas Longhorns defense

by: Justin Nash4 hours ago
ut_vs_sam_houston_state-0439_t_moore_watson
Trey Moore (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The Texas defense was hyped up a lot in the preseason, and for good reason. So far through the first four games of the 2025 campaign, the defense has lived up to elite expectations. Let’s take a look at where they stand nationally headed into week five.

[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Longhorns coverage!]

Now that teams have started to face tougher competition, the true nature of this elite defense is evident.

Holding Sam Houston State to 113 total yards no doubt helped bring the ranking up. But even if Texas had held the Bearkats to a number closer to 243 yards per game, the Longhorns’ average entering the game, Texas would still be a top 15 team in opponent yards per game. It speaks to the level of depth that Texas has given in these games you will often see chunk yardage allowed in garbage time. Not by Texas.

If there is one area Texas hangs its hat on, it’s stout run defense. We have seen some truly elite play defending the run from teams that featured players like Jaylan Ford, T’Vondre Sweat, and Byron Murphy. This 2025 team is off to a better start than that elite defense in 2023.

No team has rushed for over 100 yards against Texas this year. This is the first time since 2006 that Texas has held each of its first four opponents to under 100 yards rushing.

Finding a weakness on the defense feels like nitpicking. However, if you wanted to find a “weakness” it’s the pass defense. And as the numbers show, it’s not really much of a weakness. There will be tougher matchups ahead, but something has to be said for performing on the field. This is a group that has a great combination of talent and experience, coming in as a top 15 passing defense so far.

While that’s a small step down from last year’s passing defense, it isn’t much of one. There were hesitations about Texas’ ability to take the ball away from opponents entering the year with Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba off to the NFL. This Texas team has seven takeaways through August and September, compared to the nine the 2024 defense posted during a similar timespan. Plus, so far, 2025 Texas has a better margin than last year.

Texas will likely need the defense to win more games in 2025. The good news for Texas fans is that this defense appears to be just as elite if not better than last year’s defense. As the old saying goes, defense wins championships.

You may also like