Colin Simmons was the story of Texas’ Week 4 win over at Knoxville with his 5-sack outing that tied a single-game record for the Longhorns. However, there was one particular moment the edge rusher would want back. And rightly, he’s being called out for it.
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The play came late in the second quarter. Texas led 10-3 with about 5:20 left in the half. Simmons brought Tennessee freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon down. Then he mimicked unzipping his pants and urinating on the field.
Referee Kyle Olson announced the call. “After the play, unsportsmanlike conduct, defense No. 1, for simulating using the restroom,” Olson said. It was a dead-ball 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The flag wiped out the sack, giving Tennessee another set of downs instead of a punt. College GameDay host Rece Davis still can’t understand what was going on in Simmons’ mind.
“Colin Simmons, he’s one of my favorite players to watch. What… I mean, what are you doing? That was one of the dumbest, most ridiculous, lack-of-awareness plays,” Rece Davis said on the September 26 episode of the College GameDay podcast. “It’s not even like he tried to, you know, sneak in a little move. They had told his buddies he was going to do this; it was like a full-on choreographed thing. What are you doing?”
Without the flag, Tennessee was looking at about 4th-and-29 from its own 12-yard line. The 15 yards gave Tennessee a first down. The Volunteers picked up several chunks after that, and it hurt Texas’ field position and momentum. However, Josh Heupel’s team couldn’t turn Simmons’ mistake into points, and Texas still led 10-3 at halftime.
The edge rusher didn’t let the mistake define his day. Steve Sarkisian briefly took out his best defensive player. However, when Simmons returned to action, he was the same menace for Tennessee’s O-line. He had two sacks when the penalty was called and then added three more in the second half, including back-to-back sacks.
The fifth came in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble. On a day when the Texas offense couldn’t get any rhythm, it was the other side of the ball that answered the call.
Simmons finished with 8 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble. The five sacks tied the Texas single-game record Shane Dronett set in 1990 against Texas Tech. It was a new career high, as his previous best was three sacks. Four of the five came on third down, and Texas recorded 10 sacks as a team. On his part, Simmons didn’t avoid accountability after the game.
“I also want to say I apologize for the celebration. I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself. But you know, it happens. Charge it to the game,” Simmons said about the celebration after the game.
He also posted on X after the win. “All Glory To God Thank you for listening to my prayers, and forgive me for my actions. #5piece.”
Steve Sarkisian did not let the five sacks wash it away. “We took him out, we addressed it, and put him back in. At that point, I’m not going to give the guy a de— penalty over unsportsmanlike conduct. We got to fix it, though. That can’t continue,” Sarkisian said.
“Five sacks was pretty cool. It has to be about the team and not the look at me,” the head coach added.