Will the real Texas Longhorns please stand up? Answers are coming in Tennessee | Golden

Texas football sits atop the Associated Press Top 25 for a second straight week. That and $4.50 will get you a gallon of gas, depending on the day and the station, assuming your diesel ride is parked in the garage.

That’s about it.

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No national championship was ever won in late September, let alone October, but there are more than 135 teams in FBS that would love to be 3-0 with a win over a national No. 1. 

MORE CEDDY;

Arch Manning is taking too many big hits 

The Horns stand alone in that department.

So, what’s the state of the Longhorns union with their SEC opener coming up Saturday at No. 14 Tennessee? Well, they aren’t going through an identity crisis, but it’s fair to say we’re not completely sold on who they are three games into the season and that includes the man calling the shots on the Forty Acres.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian says he’s still learning about his team after three games, which isn’t unusual. Sometimes it takes eight or nine games to figure things out. That said, I decided to pose the question Monday.

Who are these guys?

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NO. 1 TEXAS VS. NO. 14 TENNESSEE

11 a.m. Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.

ABC; 1300 AM, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM.

“I think we’re a team that that is very well connected that plays well with one another,” Sarkisian said. “I think we take pride in our conditioning. You look at the scores in the second half of our three games. You look at the scores in the fourth quarter of our three games. These guys believe in their conditioning. They believe in the adjustments that the coaches are making, and they go execute and they continue to play together. That’s very encouraging.” 

Sark is like a 1980s teenager with an endless of supply of tokens at the local arcade. He’s controlling the joystick of the most talented Longhorns offense of his tenure, plus he has employed Will Muschamp, who was wearing a warm sweatshirt in 100-degree weather Saturday night and has the defense playing much better, particularly on the money plays. The Horns moved from last in the SEC in third-down conversions up five spots to 11th in one game.

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The biggest question centers around quarterback Arch Manning, who was visibly frustrated with his 16-of-32 performance against UTSA. QB1 has a truckload of motivation to deliver this week in Music City after hitting a few questionable notes in his 11th home start.

Manning showed up to Monday’s availability, but wasn’t exactly enthused about answering questions. When asked about the team’s identity, he said, “We play hard, tough, physical.”

Yeah, that was it.

This next game could shed some needed light on whether the Horns can live up that top-dog billing.

MORE CEDDY: Cam Coleman, defense led the way vs. UTSA

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Are they an explosive offense? Damn right. Is the defense potentially great? Absolutely, if edge rusher Colin Simmons is back in the lineup after a foot injury.

Can we positively, absolutely say they’re the best team in America as that ranking would suggest?

Uh, slow down.

Sure, they worked the Texas State Bobcats like a part-time job in Week 1. Yes, they pulled off the impossible to shock the previously top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 2. To say they toyed with UTSA in last week’s 30-6 win would be an understatement, but there were some obvious struggles, particularly on offense where Manning missed on some easy throws while the run game was up and down before finding some rhythm in the fourth quarter.

Try this one on for size: There are five teams who have a legitimate shot at winning the SEC and they’re all ranked in the top 10:

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• No. 1 Texas (3-0, 0-0) is in the national top spot for the third straight year, but the offense showed leakage against a 30-point underdog. Manning had his worst game, percentage wise, since the 2025 win over Texas A&M.

• No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0) is the sexy pick to pull off an SEC three-peat – that is, until some brave team pushes hard enough to topple Kirby Smart’s league dynasty off the mountain. It won’t be Oklahoma, which is historically inept on offense. The Sooners will surely give Texas a tussle next month, but are not conference contenders in 2026. Not even close.

• No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0) sent LSU and excommunicated former face of the program Lane Kiffin scurrying back to Fansville and now turns its eyes toward the resurgent No. 21 Florida Gators and, later, an Oct. 24 showdown in Austin. Hotty freakin’ Toddy. That’s the cleaned up version of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss‘ postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, who’s having some month with those.

• No. 9 Alabama (3-0, 1-0) has a quarterback in Keelon Russell who’s no stranger to championships, having led Duncanville to a pair of UIL Class 6A state titles in 2022 and 2023. He left high school with a 42-2 record and has the Tide lurking in the shadows of title contention. Bama hasn’t won a title since 2020. That’s forever in Saban years.

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• No. 10 LSU (3-0, 0-1) has Kiffin, who’s realizing that the beauty of being the league’s resident heel is it will take more than one loss to eliminate him from title contention. When the Tigers put together four good quarters of football, they’re as good as anybody. It took them too long to get started in Oxford.

The Bayou Bengals are hosting the SEC’s other marquee matchup this week as they welcome the embattled No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies, who trailed 28-7 at halftime before ultimately succumbing to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats before over 105,000 baffled 12th Men at Kyle Field.

The league is in its first year of playing nine conference games and while some high-profile coaches aren’t geeked about the prospect of losing a league game – it hurts more than wining helps – it’s the reality.

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Hey, don’t rip me for not wanting to see Punching Bag U from the FCS visiting an SEC stadium in mid-November. These are the games that matter. No need to disturb the groove.

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This article originally published at Will the real Texas Longhorns please stand up? Answers are coming in Tennessee | Golden.

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