With the Texas Longhorns leading 17-3 in the second quarter, it was shaping up to be another lackluster performance from defensive coordinator Brad White’s crew. Texas put points on the board in both of its opening drives, including a 32-yard rushing touchdown by running back Raleek Brown that opened the scoring in Austin.
But Florida’s defense turned its afternoon around in epic fashion. The Gators allowed just one score through the rest of the contest and consistently put pressure on Texas quarterback Arch Manning. UF sacked Manning five times, including when Myles Graham forced a sack-fumble with 1 minute and 58 seconds remaining, which sealed the win for the road team.
Notably, the defense left its third-and-fourth-down struggles in the past. After allowing South Carolina to convert on 10 of 16 third-down attempts, Florida ceded just two third-down conversions on the Longhorns’ 10 tries. The Gators also allowed just one fourth-down conversion on three attempts.
In one of those fourth-down stops, sophomore linebacker Ty Jackson made the play that sparked Florida’s defensive turnaround. He stuffed Texas running back Hollywood Smothers on a fourth-and-1 to give Florida’s offense the ball at midfield.
Ultimately, the defense finished the contest allowing just 99 yards on the ground and ceding 173 in the air. A large chunk of the passing yards came from a 62-yard grab from Emmett Mosley V in the fourth quarter, but Manning’s next-longest completion was 15 yards.
“A lot of it was a mentality,” Sumrall said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of brand new fancy calls today. You know what our guys did? They executed them with more detail, more urgency, more violence, more strain.”
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Gators’ defensive effort that sparked Florida’s first road win over an AP Top 10 opponent since 2012.
Defensive Line
Against Auburn on Sept. 19, the Gators recorded seven sacks en route to victory. In UF’s other five games, however, it has combined for 10 total sacks.
But against Texas, the Gator rush looked more like its Auburn form. In total, the five sacks for Florida came from seven combined players. More impressively, however, is that none of the five sacks involved JACK Jayden Woods and defensive end Emmanuel Oyebadejo, UF’s two leading sack artists this season.
Instead, it was defensive end LJ McCray who headlined the efforts on the defensive line. He made multiple big-time plays, including a sack for a loss of six yards that forced Texas into an uncomfortable second-and-16 position with 6:15 to play. He recorded 4 tackles (three solo), a team-high 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Overall, McCray earned a 77.5 Pro Football Focus grade on just 23 total snaps. He rotated with Oyebadejo (21 snaps) and Kamran James (12 snaps and the start)
Defensive tackles Brendan Bett and DK Kalu also greatly impacted Manning, each recording 0.5 sacks. Bett also added four tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, including a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter when he took down Manning behind the line of scrimmage. Jeremiah McCloud also recorded a quarterback hurry and pass-breakup on a first down in the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, Stive-Bentley Keumajou-Yondui, who was a late reclassification to join the Gators this season, continued to impress when given a chance, recording two tackles.
“Stive-Bentley got a few opportunities today on D-line because he’s been practicing on scout team at such a high level,” Sumrall said. “I’ve been watching him on scout team, and I’m like, push this guy over there.”
Linebackers
Coming into the season, Florida’s linebacker core was considered to be the strength of its defense, and it showed why on Saturday.
As he has for much of the season, Myles Graham anchored the linebackers unit. He was impactful throughout the contest, but his greatest effort came with 1:58 to play in the contest when he forced an Manning fumble that was then recovered by STAR Kanye Clark.
Overall, Graham logged a team-high seven tackles (three solo), a sack and a tackle for loss. He also earned a 70.0 PFF grade, including a 82.5 tackling grade.
Aside from Graham, Aaron Chiles played 31 of UF’s 51 defensive snaps and was solid. He had five tackles (one solo) and a tackle for loss.
But the biggest revelation for Florida’s talented linebacker group on the day was Jackson. The uber-athletic sophomore backer showed out in 14 defensive snaps, recording three tackles, half a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and the aforementioned fourth-quarter run stuff. Ultimately, he paced UF defenders with an 84.5 PFF grade.
“I’m so proud of his growth. He’s a tremendously talented player,” Sumrall said. “He’s got the physical [tools] to go be a big-time player, and I think he showed strides.”
Secondary
Florida’s secondary has been the weak point of its defense thus far, and while it surely wasn’t the standout unit during Saturday’s outing, it did more than enough to limit Texas’ wide receivers.
Despite being the face of Florida’s biggest special teams gaffe of the day, Kanye Clark finished the day with six total tackles, tying Cormani McClain and DJ Coleman for the second-highest on the team. Clark ultimately finished Saturday’s game with a 69.9 PFF grade.
Lagonza Hayward added four tackles (one solo), 0.5 sacks and 0.5 tackles for loss, while Ben Hanks III posted three tackles, 0.5 sacks and 0.5 tackles for loss.
That five-man core played nearly all of the snaps, with Alfonzo Allen Jr. being the only other secondary member to factor into the equation. Notably, J’Vari Flowers and Dijon Johnson did not see the field on defense.
“I think our corners also played with less fear today,” Sumrall said. “They play with a little bit more confidence today, and so very grateful for the mindset those guys played with.”
Safety Bryce Thornton had a quieter outing, recording just two tackles and a pass breakup, but he nearly intercepted what could have been a costly deep ball from Arch Manning. However, friendly fire led to the pigskin hitting the ground. Despite no takeaways, the secondary showed vast improvement on Saturday.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @avadicecca24.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Ava DiCecca is a senior sports and media journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and football beat reporter. Now in her fifth semester with The Alligator, she previously served as the Summer 2026 assistant sports editor, Spring 2026 sports editor, Gators volleyball beat reporter and an enterprise writer. In her free time, she watches Boston sports (Brad Marchand we still love you).
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
