Know Thy Enemy: Thomas Jones of the Austin American-Statesman previews Mizzou football’s matchup with Texas

At 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference, No. 18 Mizzou football is jostling for position both in the conference and among other College Football Playoff hopefuls. This week, it locks horns with No. 7 Texas (6-2, 3-2), another team with bracket aspirations.

After the Longhorns’ only losses early in October to Oklahoma and Florida, they have responded with home wins against Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Ahead of the showdown at Memorial Stadium, the Columbia Missourian spoke to Thomas Jones, the University of Texas beat reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, about Texas’ season and the challenge it may pose this week. He has covered the team for the past four years.

Q: How would you assess Texas’ season thus far?

A: It’s been full of inconsistency, and I think that’s probably the nice way to put it. The defense has been great. It’s been even better than people could have hoped. Steve Sarkisian brought in Will Muschamp as a new defensive coordinator. The defense has played outstanding, especially in the last couple of weeks when they’re getting turnovers. They lead the SEC in total defense right now (in conference games).

But then you get to the offense, and it’s like, ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ Arch Manning is a fourth-year guy. He’s been inconsistent. You bring in a guy like Cam Coleman from Auburn, who you pay a lot of money to. You bring in a couple of new linemen, and it just hasn’t clicked. The running game’s been really inconsistent. They’re trying to find a rhythm still, and it’s eight games into the season. At this point, they are what they are, which is an inconsistent offense with an error-prone quarterback. But they’re doing enough to find wins, and I guess that’s the positive you can take out of it.

Q: What are your impressions of Arch Manning as a quarterback?

A: On the plus side, he’s a big kid. When he tucks the ball and runs, he’s hard to bring down. He can make plays with his legs. He has a nice arm. He can throw on the run, and he’ll make some throws downfield where you’re like, “Wow, that’s why he was the top recruit in the nation in 2023, and that’s why some people see him as a No. 1 draft pick.”

But then there’s that indecisiveness. Sometimes, he’ll just drop back, and he’s getting decent protection, he’ll scan the field a little bit, doesn’t pull the trigger. Boom, goes down, takes a sack. That indecisiveness is hurting them. He’s error-prone because he does take sacks. If you see Arch throw the ball away, that may be the first time you’ve seen it all season. He’ll take sacks, and that’s led to some fumbles. His accuracy problems that he showed last year have gotten better, but they’re still there. Sometimes, I think he’s overthinking in the pocket. That’s probably the biggest issue.

Q: What can you expect from wide receiver Ryan Wingo as he returns to his home state of Missouri?

A: Wingo’s been steady. He’s so good after the catch. When they brought in Cam Coleman, he wasn’t necessarily the No. 1 option, even though he has that No. 1 skill set. He’s a big, physical, fast kid. But he’s not getting the targets like you’d think a No. 1 receiver is (getting). But that’s Sarkisian’s offense. They spread it around, and they have a lot of talent at the receiver position. Wingo’s been the best receiver for the Longhorns this season. It’s not (been) Coleman. Emmett Mosley V is a nice third receiver, but Wingo’s been the most consistent receiver.

Q: What has made Colin Simmons such an elite pass rusher this season?

A: His get-off off the snap is unbelievable. It’s why he’s going to be a first-round pick next year. Even though he hasn’t announced that, it’s all but a given that he’s gone. He’s ready for the league. His jump at the snap is elite. He’s not the biggest edge rusher. He’s listed at 246 pounds. He’s really strong for his size. His athleticism, his get-off, his twitchiness and his motor — I mean, he plays hard. He really goes hard every snap, especially in those passing situations. He’s an elite, elite edge rusher. I don’t know if he’s going to play against Missouri. He’s still questionable with that ankle, but Texas could use him.

Q: How has the Texas offensive line changed following the injury to Trevor Goosby?

A: He tore his knee up a couple weeks ago, so he’s done for the season. So, Sarkisian has flipped the tackles. He moved the right tackle, Melvin Siani, over to left tackle, brought in Andre Cojoe to start at right tackle, so that line’s a little banged up. Mississippi State took advantage of that. I know Mizzou’s got a pretty good defensive front. If Mizzou can win those battles up front, that may help them win the game.

Q: What is the Longhorns’ greatest strength?

A: In my opinion, it’s that front seven of the defense, especially if Colin is playing. But they have a lot of depth on the line, they come at you in waves. Then there are two linebackers, Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer, both transfers. (They) are playing at an elite level. Biles has played himself into The Butkus Award candidate (conversation). With Colin on the bench, Biles had three sacks last week. He’s a three-level defender. He’s elite in coverage, he’s fast, he’s got good hands. He was a running back at his high school in Ohio. But that front seven is really really good. Biles is just on top of his game right now, and Cryer, too. Those linebackers really make a lot of plays, and the defensive line does its job by occupying those blockers.

Q: What about weakness?

A: They can’t get the running game going. They had 207 yards against Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago, but then they followed that up with a really pedestrian showing against Mississippi State. There’s no consistency with the ground game. If you leave everything on Arch, you’re asking for trouble, because I don’t think he’s capable at this point of carrying an offense. To make matters worse, Hollywood Smothers, who started the season as their starter in the backfield, he’s out. He may be out for a while. So they’re banged up, they’re inconsistent running the ball. That handcuffs the whole offense.

Q: How does the CFP conversation change the stakes of the game?

A: We’re at the point of the season (where) these are basically elimination games. You could say with Texas at Missouri, the winner is on track to make the CFP. The loser’s done. Texas has to follow the trip to Missouri with a trip to LSU. So if you stumble against Missouri and then you have to go to Baton Rouge, you could be looking at the end of the season. Same with Missouri. They’ve had a great season, but they still have something to prove. You get a home win against the team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason, that would be a feather in the cap of the Tigers.

Q: What is your score prediction?

A: 23-20 Missouri, with a last-second field goal of 51 yards.

I think Missouri’s defense is probably better than people think. The Texas defense is good. I think both teams are going to have problems moving the ball, so it’s going to be a field position game. So I think it comes down to a field goal.