The Longhorns once again face a loss that will leave fans frustrated with the performance put on the field. Texas lost for the first time at Darrell K. Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium this season against the Florida Gators, 27-24.
Similar to the script of the Red River Rivalry last weekend, Florida started the game outmatched by two explosive plays by the Longhorns with a 32-yard rushing touchdown by Raleek Brown and a punt return touchdown in the second quarter.
In the second half, Texas could not keep the momentum and had a game-altering injury that shifted the momentum, leading to a Gators victory. While there aren't many optimistic views of two straight losses to unranked opponents, here are three players who performed peformed well for the Longhorns.
Raleek Brown, Running Back
Steve Sarkisian will once again have to face questions the following week about wondering why a Texas running back didn't receive more touches than they should have. Brown opened up the scoring with an electrifying 32-yard run for a touchdown and only saw seven more carries after that.
The most interesting part is that he was effective with those touches. Brown averaged 5.9 yards per carry and it felt like he was shooting out of a rocket every time he found the hole his offensive line made. Hollywood Smothers led the team in carries as expected, but didn't show the explosiveness that Brown did.
Sarkisian came into the season saying this room would be a committee between those two with Derek Cooper Jr. getting touches here and there, but that strategy will come into question with Brown's small, yet productive sample size today.
Colin Simmons, Edge
Before his injury, Simmons was doing what he typically does and shutting down the Gator's offense. He had one sack and four tackles for loss before coming out of the game, adding to his already top-of-the-SEC totals.
Simmons left the game with an apparent ankle injury. Nothing is confirmed and won't be until further evaluation, but Texas' defense felt his injury in the second half. Florida had no problem running the ball and giving quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. all the time he needed to make comfortable and smart throws.
Simmons did walk off the field with minor help so you can only hope it's nothing serious and the Longhorns will see their best defensive player back on the field soon.
Justin Cryer, Linebacker
Cryer was in the news during the week for not wanting to repeatedly talk about the blocked punt in the second quarter of the game against Oklahoma last week. He stated he wanted to move on and focus on what's next.
While it seems the team wasn't able to move on, Cryer made his prescence known on the field.
He had 11 tackles, which led not only the team but the entire game. It felt as if, before Florida found their rhythm, he was everywhere on the field making a play. Unfortunately, Cryer's effort was not enough to win the game.
There's no way to sugarcoat it; this is a bad loss. The Gators had their starting quarterback out and star wide receiver out and still found a way to capitalize on Texas' mistakes. The offense looked mediocre once again and, to put it simply, needs to get it together if this team wants any chance of fighting for a playoff position.
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