Neyland Stadium was af peak capacity Saturday for the first visit of the Texas Longhorns and the first sitting president ever to watch a game there.

Checkerboard stands, 101,915 in the seats, Smokey, the Pride of the Southland, and Air Force One coming in low before kickoff were the kind of afternoon the place is built for. The football that followed was tighter and a good deal less pretty. Texas left with a 20-17 win. Tennessee left with a late rally that came up one play short.

The Longhorns are 4-0 and 1-0 in the SEC. The Vols are 3-1 and 0-1. Texas went 75 yards on the opening possession, Arch Manning hitting Emmett Mosley V for 43 yards before Raleek Brown finished it from nine yards out. Cooper Ranvier answered with a 33-yard field goal to make it 7-3, and Gianni Spetic’s 22-yarder just after the second quarter started pushed the visitors to 10-3 at the half.

Air Force One flies over Neyland Stadium

Most of those two quarters belonged to Colin Simmons and the Texas front. Simmons finished the game with five sacks, tying the program record, and Texas had a record-breaking ten as a team.

Freshman Faizon Brandon spent the afternoon getting hit early and often. He left for a couple of series with a shoulder injury, came back, and still completed 17 of 29 for 145 yards and a late touchdown. DeSean Bishop managed 34 yards on the ground. The Vols as a team ran for 70. That is not a formula that works against a rush like Texas displayed on Saturday.

The Vols finally had a spark on special teams. Qua Moss fielded a punt early in the third, found a lane and blazed 57 yards for a touchdown that tied the game at 10-10. Neyland was as loud as it had been all day. Spetic answered two minutes later with a field goal from 44 yards, and Brown scored again from four yards out with 5:41 left in the game to make it 20-10. A lot of people in the stadium thought that was the end of the line for the Vols.

It wasn’t. Brandon finally found some space and drove the Vols 80 yards, hitting Mike Matthews for a 30-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining. Arion Carter then recovered the Jackson Ross onside kick near midfield. One more chance. A sack, a holding penalty, and a Hail Mary that Jelani McDonald knocked down in the end zone closed it out. Texas had survived its first trip to Neyland. Tennessee had come within a play of stealing the afternoon.

The numbers tell a defensive story. Texas finished with 262 yards, Tennessee with 221. The Vols’ front did its part with six sacks of Manning and 61 rushing yards allowed, but the offense never found a rhythm until Texas sat back late. Manning threw for 201 yards with an interception and did not have to be spectacular. His defense took that superlative.

Steve Sarkisian’s team lit cigars afterward. He said they picked that up from a Tennessee tradition and they indeed earned the win. They also committed 11 penalties for 115 yards and still walked out 4-0 which tells you what kind of team they are and how much they still have to clean up. They might also endeavor to clean up their post-play celebrations as well.

Tennessee goes into next week with a loss that will sit. With their talent, it's surprising that the pass protection is not ready for prime time. Auburn comes to Neyland on Saturday, which will say more about the quality of this team.


TOM’S TAKEAWAYS

• Ten sacks is the number that matters. Brandon can run and throw. Neither works if he is on his back. The line has to win the first two seconds more often than it did Saturday.

• Moss’s return was Tennessee’s best play of the day. Defense and special teams kept them in a game the offense could not unlock until the final two minutes.

• Matthews remains the most reliable target downfield. One late score is not enough when the rest of the afternoon consists of sacks and short gains in the running game.

• Texas is the better team right now. Tennessee is close enough to be dangerous if they can keep the quarterback upright and therein lies the problem in one sentence.

• Tennessee has lost the past two Checker Neyland games. Maybe the next one will render a victory.