Texas' defense keeps Atlanta hopes alive by hanging on for 27-24 win over Vanderbilt

In Nashville on Saturday, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns offense once again did no favors for a defense that’s been one of the best in the nation. And while that defense was pushed to the limit, it did what was necessary to lock up a 27-24 win for Texas over the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores.

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Texas let Diego Pavia do all the damage but made sure the Commodore quarterback had no major supporting actor produce anything close to an award winning performance. Pavia accumulated three touchdowns but turned the ball over twice in crucial situations. The Longhorn offense, despite self-inflicted trials and tribulations, did just enough to make a late Vanderbilt onside kick the decisive play. Once the Longhorns took possession via a recovery from DeAndre Moore they could breathe a sigh of relief and return home to Austin for the bye week with a 7-1 record and with the SEC Championship game still within their sights.

Plus, Texas retained a small margin of error for the 12-team College Football Playoff as well as they head back home.

The Texas offense was up and down. Quinn Ewers was 27-for-37 for 288 yards and three scores. Moore netted 97 yards and two of those Ewers touchdowns on six catches. Matthew Golden hauled in the other scoring toss. Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue combined for 126 yards on 27 rushing attempts.

Mistakes in the form of two Ewers turnovers and a number of Longhorn penalties on both sides of the football gave the time-of-possession based Commodore offense opportunities to make the game close. That they did via three Texas turnovers.

Vanderbilt scored two touchdowns off those turnovers.

The Longhorns were successful on possessions where the defense was not forced to defend a short field after a sudden change. In the 10 other possessions for Vanderbilt that were not the result of a turnover, the Commodores scored just 10 points. One of those was the final drive that set up the pivotal onside recovered by Moore, but the recovery made that last lapse in defense inconsequential.

There were other key situations where Pete Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball found plenty of success. In addition to the interceptions recorded by Liona Lefau and Michael Taaffe, Texas gave up a respectable 3.7 yards per rush. Vanderbilt averaged only 4.3 yards per play. The longest play recorded by Vandy went for 21 yards to Junior Sherrill. That was the only one that tallied 20 or more yards.

A number of Texas defensive players had quality statistical days. Anthony Hill led Texas with eight total tackles, plus a pass break-up and two quarterback hurries. Jelani McDonald, who stood in at safety for the injured Derek Williams and Andrew Mukuba, notched seven tackles plus a TFL.

Taaffe not only had his interception, but also a forced fumble and a pass break-up as part of a number of plays made in pivotal moments. Jermayne Lole made the other Longhorn TFL. Lefau recorded his pivotal interception late in the contest as part of a three tackle day.

Those contributions helped the Longhorns overcome volatile performances from Ewers and the rest of the Texas offense. And as a result with the bye week ahead, the Longhorns’ dreams for Atlanta remain alive.

A one-loss Texas heads into its second bye and has Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas A&M left on the schedule. A loss to the Commodores would have put Texas in a position where Atlanta, either in the form of the SEC Championship game or the College Football Playoff national championship, would have been nearly out of reach.

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But thanks to limiting Vanderbilt to 269 total yards, a 3-for-12 night on third down, and keeping the ball for 31:09 compared to the Commodores 28:51, Texas leaves Nashville with a hard-earned though not flawless win over a ranked opponent. And, more importantly, hopes of making Atlanta for the SEC and national championship still alive.