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Texas welcomes a much-needed bye after seeing more snaps than most teams in the country

by: Justin Nash11/03/25
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Anthony Hill, Colin Simmons (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The Texas Longhorns are entering their second bye week as one of the most taxed defenses in the country. Similar can also be said for the offense. With bumps and bruises (and more) mounting up on both sides of the ball in recent weeks, this bye week is welcomed heading into to a top 15 matchup on the road in Athens, Ga.

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The last Saturday that Texas didn’t play football was September 27th. There has been a lot of football played since then, and Texas has been at the forefront of it all. Losing to Florida in the Swamp, stomping Oklahoma, surviving in overtime vs. Kentucky, coming back from certain death against Mississippi State, and hanging on to a win vs. Vanderbilt has led to Texas playing the second most snaps in the nation.

The offense just saw Ryan Wingo leave the game versus Vanderbilt with an injury to his thumb, but Steve Sarkisian said he could have returned if needed in emergency. One of the WRs that came in to fill the void was Daylan McCutcheon, but even he made a stop in the injury tent. Just the wide receiver corps alone could use a week off, so think about the rest of the team.

That isn’t even considering the fact the Texas offense is tied with SMU for the most snaps played in October and November. At 366 offensive snaps, the Longhorns have really been battling to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Compare that to Georgia’s offense, which currently sits at 259 snaps and will likely sit around 320 snaps entering the Texas game.

While the defense can’t claim they have played the most snaps in October and November, they have played more snaps than their offensive counterpart with 368. The only teams ahead are SMU at 374 snaps, and Cincinnati at 384 snaps. It has been an emotional and taxing 368 snaps. Georgia, on the other hand, is one of the more rested defenses in the country at 247 snaps since the start of October.

Those snaps have also led to some crucial injuries mounting for the defense, with the aptly named bye week buying Texas some time for those to heal. Right now the safety room’s depth is being tested. Michael Taaffe is nursing a thumb injury that required surgery. Jelani McDonald was knocked out of the game on Saturday.

Texas will need as many healthy bodies as possible for the Georgia game. The Bulldogs will likely be up for the challenge considering Kirby Smart boasts a tremendous home record.

We will see if the bye weeks buys Texas enough time for the return of missing players, but this is the final week of rest before three weeks of all out war on the gridiron.

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