Texas DE Colin Simmons bounces back to make history vs. No. 14 Tennessee

"Absolute idiotic move," ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, providing color commentary, said.

Play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler agreed, adding, "Yeah, it's idiotic. And it doesn't get much vulgar, either."

For lesser players, that mental error would have defined their game. But for Simmons, it became a footnote.

His monster performance started early, with Simmons' first sack coming when quarterback Tennessee Brandon Faizon ran straight into his waiting arms after escaping the pocket on a 3rd-and-12 in the first quarter.

Following the penalty, Simmons notched sacks on back-to-back plays during Tennessee's second drive of the third quarter. First, Simmons ripped past left tackle David Sanders for a blind-side sack. He followed with a delayed look, allowing the play to develop before taking off and getting to Faizon.

While not credited with the sack on the following fourth-quarter snap, Simmons supplied pressure off the edge, and senior defensive tackle Hero Kanu finished the play.

Moments later, Simmons chased Faizon down after he evaded initial pressure for his fifth sack.

As the AP's Josh Dubow noted afterward, Simmons became the first FBS player with five sacks in a single game since former James Madison Dukes defensive end Jalen Green (October 19, 2023). He's also the first to do so against an AP-ranked top-10 team since at least 2005.

With Texas only gaining 262 total yards and quarterback Arch Manning having a quiet game — he finished 14-of-19 for 201 yards and an interception while also taking six sacks — it needed every bit of Simmons's dominant performance.

His unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was the only negative, but with an upcoming bye week, Simmons has time to workshop other celebrations. If Texas gets to where it wants to go, he's going to need them.