Nevertheless, Manning led Texas with 155 yards and two touchdowns in Wednesday’s 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. But it was Clark’s 105-yard effort on 20 carries that paced the Longhorn rushing attack, which churned out 235 yards, one yard shy of a season high (236 yards against Sam Houston).
Clark’s 22-yard burst over the right side of the line on his first carry set the tone for the biggest day of the redshirt freshman’s young career. He gained some much-needed confidence right out of the gate.
His ability to be patient and then to stick a foot in the ground to get vertical (with a gear he didn’t show earlier in the season) made Clark the right man to get the baton from Quintrevion Wisner as the lead dog in the Texas running game.
It’s fair to wonder if Clark should’ve gotten more carries throughout the season. Regardless, he rose to the occasion in such a manner that the Longhorns might consider allocating resources elsewhere in the transfer portal if they view Clark as someone who can handle a more significant role. (Running back will still be a top priority, but could Clark be a key rotational piece around a true No. 1 runner?)
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The Texas (10-3) offensive line didn’t dominate the Wolverines at the point of attack. Seven of the Longhorns’ 33 official rushing attempts were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, and Manning’s 60-yard game-clinching touchdown run elevated the rushing yardage total.
Still, even with Michigan (9-4) recording five tackles for loss on Wednesday, Kyle Flood’s group ended the season by allowing seven total sacks against seven ranked opponents. The Wolverines became the Longhorns' second ranked foe this season to come up empty trying to sack Manning (Vanderbilt was also shut out in the sack department).
Whether Trevor Goosby comes back or not, Wednesday’s game made for a solid sendoff for a group that’s going to lose D.J. Campbell, Cole Huston and possibly Connor Robertson.
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It’s a shame Emmett Mosley V (five catches for 51 yards) was injured late in the first half and couldn’t return. He displayed impressively strong hands and the kind of decisiveness in the quick game that could make him a more versatile weapon than he got a chance to show he could be in his first season with the program.
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If the Citrus Bowl is the last game for Jack Endries as a Longhorn, it was one in which he made a difference. His five receptions for 35 yards included a touchdown catch that saw him impressively hang onto the ball after getting popped in the end zone.
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It wasn’t always pretty on defense, especially throughout the third and into the fourth quarter when Michigan started to control the game. A big part of that was Bryce Underwood (199 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, three total touchdowns and two interceptions) taking advantage of available, open throws underneath, eating into a 9.3 to-go distance on third down (a 4-for-15 night on third down) to set the Wolverines up for a 5-for-6 night on fourth down.
But when the dust settled, Texas finished plus-2 in the turnover margin (3-1) thanks to a pair of big second-half interceptions by Ty’Anthony Smith (a game-high nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry) and a red-zone pick by Wardell Mack.
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Colin Simmons (one sack and two tackles for loss) impacted the game, especially when he could pin his ears back and attack the Wolverines' tackles. His season-long total of 12 sacks as a sophomore ties him with Tony Degrate (1984), Kiki De Ayala (1981) and Steve McMichael (1977) for eighth on the school’s single-season list (with 21 career sacks, Simmons’ next one will move him into a tie for 12th place on the program’s career charts).
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While I’m thrilled that the Longhorns got the win and developed a lot of guys during bowl season who will be expected to take on more significant roles in 2026, three things must change before the start of next season:
— Even though the officiating left a lot to be desired on Wednesday (including two controversial Michigan touchdowns confirmed by the ACC crew after going under the hood for a review), a season-high-tying 12 penalties for 104 yards isn’t how I wanted this team to end the season. I don’t know what Steve Sarkisian needs to do to fix the penalty problem, but Texas must find a way to play cleaner, more disciplined football next season.
— Outside of Mason Shipley’s 2-for-2 night on field goals (43 and 51 yards, respectively), the kicking game was a disaster. It took the Longhorns entirely too long to stop kicking the ball to Andrew Marsh (163 all-purpose yards, only 10 of which came on offense) and Ryan Niblett’s fumble on a kickoff return, which set up Michigan’s first touchdown, was the only turnover of the game.
The offense and defense did enough to overcome the net negative contributions from the special teams, a phase of the game in which entirely too many penalties were committed through 13 games.
— I appreciated the effort of guys like Smith, Mack, Graceson Littleton (six tackles and a pass breakup), Warren Roberson (five tackles and a pass breakup), Kade Phillips (eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup), Bo Barnes (three tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack) and Jelani McDonald (seven tackles), who threw their bodies around in the name of making plays (Roberson came painfully close to forcing a touchback on Underwood's fourth-quarter touchdown run and Mack's interception was preceeded by a sudden move to cornerback with Roberson and Kobe Black unavailable at the time). Still, the challenge for Will Muschamp will be to maximize a dynamic pass rush while tightening up coverage and eliminating the easy throws, of which there were too many available for Underwood on Wednesday.
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The unsavory aspects of Wednesday’s game aside, Texas rides into the offseason with a 10th win on the strength of a monster game from Manning, with changes afoot to help the Longhorns get back into the College Football Playoff.
With that as the backdrop, I’ll worry about the transfer portal and how Muschamp will fill out the defensive staff after savoring this one for a bit.
The 2025 season didn’t play out the way Longhorn fans wanted it to or hoped it would. Thankfully, an undermanned squad of fewer than 70 scholarship players gave everyone something to feel good about heading into 2026.
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