On paper, the Texas football team threw 31 passes in Saturday’s 52-37 win over Arkansas at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
Bevo XV, however, may have the 17th-ranked Longhorns down for 32 attempts with linebacker Liona Lefau joining Arch Manning and Parker Livingstone on the stat sheet. In the fourth quarter, Lefau scooped up a fumble and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. To celebrate the score, Lefau approached Bevo’s pen in the South End Zone and flipped the football toward the steer.
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NO. 17 TEXAS VS. NO. 3 TEXAS A&M
When/where: 6:30 p.m. Friday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
TV/radio: ABC; 1300 AM, 1370 AM, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM (Spanish)
Not everyone loved the celebration — “I’m a Silver Spur, so I took that to heart,” safety Michael Taaffe joked afterward — but Lefau meant no harm. Afterward, the junior insisted that he has no beef with Bevo.
“We like to go celebrate with Bevo, and I guess that was my celebration. First thing that came to mind,” Lefau said.
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Lefau’s touchdown was a highlight for a linebacking corps that had an uneven performance against Arkansas. The Longhorns were playing without All-American linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., who was ruled out before the game with a reported hand injury.
Texas Longhorns linebacker Liona Lefau (18) chases Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington (4) in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 22, 2025.
Without its leading linebacker, Texas gives up early explosives
Dating back to last season, Texas had started Hill at middle linebacker and Lefau as weakside linebacker in 18 straight games. But with the 6-foot-3, 238-pound Hill sidelined, Texas shifted the 6-3, 249-pound Trey Moore into his spot.
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A converted edge rusher, Moore was quickly tested by the Razorbacks offense. Arkansas sent its fullback at Moore on the game’s first play, and a successful block sprung running back Mike Washington Jr. free for a 41-yard gain.
Over its first three drives, Arkansas scored 13 points while running 19 plays and gained 177 yards. The Razorbacks had six gains of at least 10 yards during that span.
“I’ll have to look at the tape of the first couple big plays they had. I don’t think it was about not having Anthony,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “(Arkansas has) been creating explosive plays on everybody. And I know sometimes people don’t want to believe me, but they scored a lot of points on a lot of people, and they’ve got a talented group. I thought we settled down after a couple of the explosives.”
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Texas (8-3, 5-2) eventually surrendered a season-high 512 yards of offense to Arkansas (2-9, 0-7), which was also just the third team to score 35 points against the Longhorns this fall. After Texas seized a 52-23 lead and began to rest its starters, the Razorbacks put together 75- and 92-yard touchdown drives during the fourth quarter.
Moore finished with five tackles and two quarterback hurries while Lefau complemented his touchdown with four stops. Sophomore linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith also had two tackles.
“I thought the guys who stepped up today did great,” UT edge rusher Ethan Burke said. “Trey Moore, outstanding. Liona scored a touchdown, it’s pretty sweet. And then Ty, all those guys are doing great, too.”
Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith (26) and Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe celebrate a sack Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the Texas Longhorns’ game against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.
Anthony Hill Jr. is coming back, but Texas LBs still shorthanded
An All-American as a sophomore, Hill missed the first game of his three-year career Saturday. Without him, Lefau said the linebackers adopted a “next man up” mentality. The Longhorns won’t be without Hill for long, though. Sarkisian said he expects Hill to play against No. 3 Texas A&M (11-0, 7-0) on Friday.
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“I do suspect we’ll have him back,” Sarkisian said.
Even though he missed a week, Hill still leads the team with 69 tackles. He also has four sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. So the Longhorns will be happy to have him back against a Texas A&M offense that ranks 10th nationally in scoring (38.1 points per game) and 15th in total offense (465.1 yards per game).
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The Longhorns, however, will still be shorthanded. At least for one half. In the third quarter of the Arkansas game, Smith was ejected for a targeting penalty. By rule, he must sit out the first half of UT’s next game. So Smith and his 47 tackles won’t be available against the Aggies until after the halftime break.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to play the first half without Ty,” Lefau said. “Obviously, his presence is going to be missed because of how hard he plays and his sideline-to-sideline ability. But it’s just next man up and you’ve got to just go into the game ready to play.”
