4 overreactions after Texas's sloppy win over Vanderbilt

Alfred Collins is the SEC's most dominant defensive tackle

The two defensive MVPs of this game for the Longhorns were two key upperclassmen who stepped up when Texas needed them the most on the road, senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins and redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe.

Collins, Taaffe, and senior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole held down the defense at the different levels against Vandy and Pavia's dual-threat capability. Up front, Collins and Lole helped to generate consistent pressure with the pass rush against Vandy's pocket, consistently disrupting Pavia's rhythm on offense.

For the third week in a row, Collins registered multiple defensive stops, multiple quarterback pressures, and at least three combined tackles. Collins has been a major disruptor for Texas's interior pass rush and run-stopping efforts in the middle of the defense against ranked SEC opponents for multiple weeks consecutively.

This was an impressive group effort in the face of some key injuries in the defensive secondary for the Longhorns against Vandy's efficient and methodical offense. Texas's disruptiveness up front helped to force multiple turnovers from Pavia and the Vandy offense for only the first time this fall.

After the game, Pavia said Texas "probably" has the best defensive line he's faced this season.

"We had to roll (in the pass game) because they stuffed the box. They’ve got a really good defensive line, probably the best I’ve faced."

- Diego Pavia on Texas's defensive line

Texas's run fits and assignments in their lanes on defense held up effectively against a really hard-to-stop Vandy option offense on the ground. For the first time this season, Vandy was held to five or fewer running first downs on offense against the Longhorns' assignment-sound defensive front and collapsing safeties in Taaffe and sophomore Jelani McDonald.