It was hard to tell which team was ranked at No. 9 nationally and which was unranked, clamoring in desperation to salvage their season from disappointment.
For the first time since 2022, the No. 9 Texas Longhorns fell to an unranked team. The Florida Gators made the win look effortless, upsetting the Longhorns in the conference opener, 29-21, Saturday evening at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
“Hats off to Florida, they fought at the end of the day,” senior safety Michael Taaffe said. “They were the better football team today, which hurts, but that’s the truth of the matter.”
The Longhorns’ defense, the team’s strongest area for the first four games, looked outmatched, struggling to fend off a rejuvenated Florida offense for the majority of the game.
On a long 13-play opening drive, Florida drove 84 yards down the field, capping it off with a 5-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Jadan Baugh. The touchdown was the first time this season the Longhorns allowed an opposing offense to score on the first drive.
It took until late into the second quarter for the Longhorns’ defense to force Florida’s first third-and-out of the game; by that point, the Gators held a firm 19-7 lead heading into the second half.
“We’ve got to start faster if they’re coming out (and) playing well on offense,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning said. “We’ve got to play better as an offense (and) get our defense off the field.”
Texas’ defense was unable to pressure Florida sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, allowing him plenty of comfort in the pocket to find his open receiver down the field. Lagway’s season high 298 yards cost the Longhorns big.
“We always try to say, eliminate the explosive plugs, and we didn’t do that today,” Taaffe said. “That was a big key factor. So, I think a couple of touchdowns could have been prevented and that directly was on the (defensive backs).”
On the other side of the field, Manning and the Texas offense continued to experience woes on the ground and in the air against much stiffer competition.
The Florida defense was almost unstoppable in the first half, neutralizing any resemblance of a rushing game. Texas junior running back Quintrevion Wisner was held to just 11 yards on eight carries in his first start back since week one.
The leading rusher for Texas was Manning, with the majority of those yards coming from escaping pressure or designed quarterback runs.
“We couldn’t run it tonight when they didn’t know we were going to run it, regardless of when they knew we were gonna run it,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to find a way to generate some run game and generate some run game outside of Arch (Manning).”
Manning played well despite being battered and bruised by the Gators’ defensive line for nearly the entire game. He started to get into a rhythm in the second half, leading the Longhorns to two touchdown drives in the second half.
“You’re gonna have to go through some adversity, especially now, a lot of teams (are) not gonna go undefeated,” sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo said. “Somebody, gonna beat you … we got two losses under our bill, so we can’t lose no more.”
Texas will look to bounce back against the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
