Even after a win over a ranked SEC opponent, most conversations about the matchup between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and the then-No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers had to do with a few... rather crude... celebrations.
They included celebrations from third-year edge rusher Colin Simmons and transfer running back Raleek Brown, who both created celebrations focused around their groins.
Immediately following the game, head coach Steve Sarkisian and a few players made it blatantly obvious that the behavior from their two teammates was unacceptable. On Monday, Sarkisian let everyone know he had doubled down on that point.
In his media availability, Sarkisian shared that he had met with both Brown and Simmons individually to emphasize that the behavior wouldn't be tolerated. He also shared that he had let the entire team know exactly what kind of behavior is and isn't acceptable.
"I know there's been a lot made of Colin's penalty. There probably could have been a couple more, truthfully. I was truthful with the team this morning, but that's not who we are as a team, and that behavior is unacceptable. I've met with the team about it; I've met with Colin individually; I've met with Raleek individually."
He made sure to assure everyone that they were handling the issue internally. While he gave no notion of a suspension or punishment, one can assume a head coach like Sarkisian would come down pretty strongly on players who made choices like that on the field in a one-on-one meeting.
While the pride of a winning tradition is one of the most stressed tenets of the University of Texas, doing so in a tasteful manner is also of the utmost importance. Simmons and Brown did not reflect that core principle on Saturday.
"We take a lot of pride in the way we play the game," Sarkisian said. "We've gotta learn from that; I think Colin will. I don't think any of those actions are indicative of the character of the young men."
All Longhorns are expected to learn from mistakes vs. Tennessee
Sark went on to talk about the fact that the team has to get back to playing as a team, for the team, and that every single person on the roster can learn from the poor celebration choices made while the Horns faced Tennessee.
After the game, Simmons apologized for his actions, but also said that he absolutely let the moment and the fact that he was feeling good in the game get to him.
Yes, Knoxville is undeniably a rowdy environment, but it will be far from the last emotion-filled atmosphere Texas plays in this season, and this team cannot allow those emotions to continue to take over.
The Horns still have to face the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies on the road, as well as play the Red River Rivalry against the Oklahoma Sooners in just two weeks' time. The hostility from opposing fans isn't going away anytime soon.
"We've gotta learn from the lesson. We can't let the emotions of the game get the [better] of us cause we're gonna be in other hostile environments," Sarkisian said. "We've gotta continue to learn from that."
The use of "we" instead of "them," or calling out Simmons and Brown by name every time he discussed the topic, was extremely telling of Sarkisian's stance on the matter: You win and lose as a team, you get penalized as a team, you learn as a team.
"Not indicative of the team that we are, or the character of this team, or what we're about," Sarkisian said.
Texas is better than those celebrations. Simmons knows it, Brown knows it, Sarkisian knows it, and the whole program knows it. Now, it's just time to show the world that they actually mean it.
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