With its small hopes of a College Football Playoff on the line, Texas football secured a needed win Saturday by racing away from Arkansas 52-37 behind a record-setting game from quarterback Arch Manning.
Austin, TX
Texas football: How the No. 17 Longhorns graded in win over Arkansas
The Longhorns (8-3, 5-2) scored their most points ever in a SEC game, and they needed almost all of them against the explosive attack of Arkansas (2-9, 0-7). The Razorbacks tallied 512 yards of offense, the most a Texas team has allowed since Washington had 537 yards in a 37-31 win in their 2023 CFP semifinal.
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GOLDEN: Texas football did its part but CFP chances are dim with Aggies waiting
Manning threw for a career-high 389 yards to power Texas to the win and set up a Friday showdown against blood rival and unbeaten Texas A&M, the third-ranked team in the nation.
Here’s how the Longhorns graded out in the 52-37 win over Arkansas:

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) yells in celebration after making an interception in the third quarter of the Longhorns’ game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 22, 2025.
Quarterback: A
Manning offered some self-criticism after the game, but it’s hard to find much fault in his career day. He threw four touchdowns, ran for another and even caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Parker Livingstone on a trick play to become the first Texas player to ever run, catch and throw for a score in a single game. The lone critique: He went 18 of 30 and missed a couple of throws.
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MORE: Texas vs Arkansas: Longhorns blast Hogs 52-37 to set up SEC finale against Texas A&M
Running back: C-
The combination of Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter continues to carry the load, and it continues to plod along. They combined for 91 yards on 22 carries and didn’t catch a single pass. Baxter runs hard, but it looks like he may need another offseason to regain his explosiveness after undergoing knee surgery in August 2024.
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Receivers: A
This unit continues to spread the wealth. DeAndre Moore Jr. stepped into the starring role with a career-high three touchdowns on three catches, and Ryan Wingo continued to be the most productive receiver on the squad with six catches. Tight end Jack Endries also got into the act with two catches for 49 yards. Best of all, no drops for a group that has shown some butter fingers.
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Texas Longhorns wide receiver Deandre Moore Jr. (0) celebrates in the end zone after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arkansas Razorbacks in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Offensive line: A-
The Longhorns started the same quintet of left tackle Travor Goosby, left guard Cole Hutson, center Connor Roberston, right guard DJ Williams and right tackle Brandon Baker for the third straight game. That continuity is paying off, especially in pass protection. Manning didn’t suffer a single sack and only absorbed three hits with arguably his best protection of the season.
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Defensive line: B-
Texas’ defensive line had its hands full, especially early before Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green and running back Mike Washington Jr. left the game with injuries. Edge rushers Colin Simmons (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1½ tackles for loss) and Ethan Burke (6 tackles) had big games, but the interior had trouble with the big Hogs.
Linebackers: C+
All-American middle linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. missed the game with a hand injury, and it showed. Edge backer Trey Moore played much of the game out of position inside and Ty’Anthony Smith was ejected for a targeting call that will cause him to miss the first half of the game against Texas A&M. Liona Leafu’s scoop-and-score touchdown off a strip sack by Simmons was the unit’s only highlight, even if the ball did end up in Bevo’s pen.
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Secondary: D+
Arkansas threw for 324 yards on 26-of-49 passing even though backup QB KJ Jackson played almost half the game. The Longhorns did get an interception from Derek Williams Jr. on an ill-advised shovel pass by Green, but missed tackles and blown coverages remain a concern. One side note: Freshman Kade Phillips seems to have taken over the starting cornerback spot from Jaylon Guilbeau opposite Malik Muhammad.
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Special teams: B
Moore had a strange punt return in which he fielded the ball in the end zone and barely made it to the 5-yard line. Punter Jack Boumeester dropped two of his three kicks inside the Hogs’ 20-yard line, Mason Shipley made a 44-yard field goal just before the half, and Texas avoided the miscues that have plagued them in several games.
Coaching: B+
Steve Sarkisian is cooking as a play-caller and as a quarterbacks coach, considering Manning’s development over the past month. He also shows that his team usually rebounds in tough weeks; Sarkisian’s teams are 10-0 after a loss since 2022. But defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s group couldn’t handle the Hogs, even with their backup quarterback.
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Austin, TX
Lawsuit: Brianna Aguilera’s parents allege underage alcohol service at Austin tailgate contributed to daughter’s death
The parents of Brianna Aguilera have filed a lawsuit against two organizations, alleging that they served alcohol to their underage daughter which contributed to her death in Austin.
Before Aguilera fell to her death from the Rio 21 Apartments in West Campus, the lawsuit states that she attended a tailgate at the Austin Blacks Rugby Club’s facility, organized by the UT Latin Economics and Business Association.
Both the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Latin Economics and Business Association were listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
>> What we know about Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera’s death in Austin
Even though the lawsuit states Aguilera was “noticeably intoxicated” at the tailgate, her parents argue that the defendants continued to serve her alcohol.
According to court documents, Aguilera allegedly began stumbling at the tailgate and needed help standing at times. At some point, the lawsuit said she fell into the woods and lost her phone.
After leaving the tailgate at approximately 10 p.m., court documents state Aguilera died around two hours later.
The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of negligence and gross negligence for serving alcohol to Aguilera despite her age and allegedly overserving her.
In the suit, Aguilera’s parents demanded a trial by jury and sought at least $1 million plus interest, costs and punitive damages.
Aguilera’s parents also seek damages for wrongful death, citing the defendants’ alleged misconduct.
Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who’s representing the Aguilera family, commented on the lawsuit in a Tuesday news conference.
Watch the full news conference below:
“Brianna was obviously overserved,” Buzbee said. “Even the police have concluded that she was overserved at that tailgate. She was not 21.”
Buzbee also stated that the Austin Police Department has allegedly told multiple witnesses not to talk with him and Aguilera’s parents.
“They told the three, the three individuals that were in that apartment that night when this young girl died. They told them, do not speak to Brianna’s mother or her lawyers,” Buzbee said.
He said that the lawsuit could provide a way for the witnesses to eventually come forward with information.
“By filing this lawsuit, not only will we hold accountable an entity or entities that were involved in overserving Brianna and other minors, but we will also be able to subpoena individuals and documents and video and data so we can continue our investigation,” Buzbee said.
KSAT’s sister station, KPRC, has reached out to both the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Latin Economics and Business Association for comment on the lawsuit. This story will be updated once the organizations provide a statement.
More coverage of this story on KSAT:
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Austin, TX
Cedar pollen eases, but record heat builds across Central Texas
Although record-breaking heat and spring-like warmth dominated the first few days of the new year, cooler — but still warmer than normal —temperatures settled in to start the first work week of 2026.
The heat will ramp up yet again Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures about 20 degrees above the normal early-January high of 62 degrees.
Expect a blanket of low stratus clouds and some patchy dense fog Tuesday morning, but skies should begin clearing around lunchtime.
“In the meantime, a surface trough (of low atmospheric pressure)/dry line will push from the southern Edwards Plateau into the I-35 corridor, bringing temperatures into the lower to mid-80s,” meteorologists with the National Weather Service wrote in a forecast discussion Monday. “It is going to be very warm for this time of year, and some daily high temperature records could be broken.”
Those temperatures could rival record highs at both Austin climate observation sites, Camp Mabry and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where the standing record is 84 degrees, set in 1989.
Behind the dry line Tuesday, drier air will move into Central Texas, leading to a slightly cooler start Wednesday under mostly to partly cloudy skies.
Morning temperatures will dip into the 50s around sunrise before climbing into the upper 70s to mid-80s by the afternoon. Those highs would surpass the record of 80 degrees set in 2008 at Camp Mabry.
Temperatures the rest of the week will remain above normal with mostly cloudy mornings but sunny afternoons.
A cold front is forecast to move across the region later in the week with a slight rain chance Thursday and Friday, but most of the rain will fall north and east of Austin. However, cooler and more seasonable weather is expected this weekend.
This past weekend, Austin experienced the highest cedar pollen counts so far this season with a count of 3,200 grains per cubic meter Saturday and a peak of 4,000 grains per cubic meter on Sunday. However, the count dropped to just over 1,000 grams per cubic meter on Monday. Humidity has been on the rise in the past few days, and winds have been much lighter. Those factors have helped “settle” the cedar pollen for the time being.
Luckily, the winds have turned southerly and are much lighter, so the pollen has settled a bit. A small chance of rain on Thursday and Friday should also help dampen cedar pollen before it becomes airborne. However, above-normal temperatures will allow tree pollen cones to continue opening, setting the stage for another pollen surge when the next breezy cold front arrives.
Austin, TX
Venezuelan oil reboot not expected to spur windfall in Texas
Texas reacts to Venezuelan leader being taken into custody
With former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of power, President Trump said he wants to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela. That idea has raised questions about whether it could cause a price spike at the gas pump and a downturn in the Texas oil patch region.
AUSTIN, Texas – With former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of power, President Trump said he wants to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela.
That idea has raised questions about whether it could cause a price spike at the gas pump and a downturn in the Texas oil patch region.
Now, a spike at the pump and a production slump in the Texas oil patch may not happen this year, but with oil prices down, a budget crunch for state lawmakers may be waiting when they return to Austin in 2027.
What they’re saying:
The situation in Venezuela is creating a lot of political uncertainty, but a Texas energy expert said he is not expecting that uncertainty to cause an oil patch crash or a gas pump pike in 2026.
Prices at the pump are low and despite some recent big swings, up and down, analysts say 2026 could see the lowest prices since the pandemic. That prediction has people like Dale Owens cautiously optimistic.
“Things change so drastically nowadays. I mean, look what’s happening with the government, so anything can affect the price. But right now I’m really happy that it’s stable,” said Owens.
There are big reasons for that local gas price stabilization, and it predates the leadership change in Venezuela, according to Ed Hirs, an Energy Fellow at the University of Houston.
“The first is that the president has asked MBS (Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) and OPEC nations to continue pumping a pace. Number one. Number two, this helps hamstring the Russian economy and its war effort. And that’s also one of the goals of not only the European Union, but of the Trump administration. And number three, we’ve got the midterm elections coming up,” said Hirs.
The price of a barrel of oil is expected to increase slightly because of the uncertainty regarding Venezuela. Texas crude oil production, according to an update released Monday, was stable in December, but state data also showed drilling permits for 2025 were at 369 and that’s down from 459 in 2024.
“When President Trump took office, oil was about $80 a barrel, today it’s under $60 a barrel. We are the high-cost producers in the global commodity oil market, and the cost of drilling these wells has gone up by between 5% and 12%, primarily because of Trump’s steel tariffs. Not only does the imported steel now cost a lot more, but domestic producers raise their So the producers in West Texas and across the Permian Basin are getting squeezed by much lower revenues, $20 a barrel less and much higher cost. It’s not a good capital investment for Wall Street,” said Hirs.
Dig deeper:
The oil industry remains a big part of the Texas economy and the state budget. State lawmakers will return to Austin in 2027 to crunch numbers for a new two-year budget.
“I think they need to be looking at the budget. So the state comptroller needs to be running the numbers now based on lower oil revenues, not only for state lands, for example, for the universities, but for the state tax receipts. And that applies to the counties and cities that rely on these revenues to keep their budgets balanced. It’s going to be lower for longer,” said Hirs.
There are also doubts about whether the Texas refineries will get a financial windfall if the Trump Administration is able to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela. There are about six refineries in Texas and Louisiana that can process the heavy crude that is located in Venezuela.
“Well, it might help keep them open. But Lyondell just closed down a 100-plus-year-old heavy crude refinery on the Houston Ship Channel because it just doesn’t make any sense to reinvest in it. And it was going to require $750, $800 million of new capital investment just to keep the plant operating at par,” said Hirs.
What’s next:
Stocks for several oil companies did increase on Monday. Chevron, at one point, had a 10% stock price surge, mainly because Chevron is the only U.S. company operating in Venezuela. Other energy-related companies also saw an increase, like Exxon, as well as industry suppliers like Baker-Hughes and Halliburton.
The action on Wall Street came after President Trump said he wants energy producers to pay for the oil production rebuild. Hirs described the administration’s plans as being “naive.”
Past attempts to rebuild another country’s oil infrastructure seem to back up the doubts raised by Hirs. In 1989, after the Soviet Union collapsed, companies like Exxon went in to rebuild — only to get kicked out later by the Russians. Hirs also noted the rebuilding effort in Iraq, started by President George W. Bush, hasn’t returned production there to pre-war levels. And it’s the same story for Libya, which was done under President Obama.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski and previous coverage
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