Texas Won 31-3 — and Lost Five Players Along the Way: Littleton, Smothers, Wingo, Phillips and Coleman Did Not Finish Against Mississippi State
Steve Sarkisian read the list himself after the Halloween rout: five Longhorns did not finish the game, the severity of every one is unknown, and No. 11 Texas travels to No. 23 Missouri on Saturday with recovery, in his words, starting now.
The scoreboard said 31-3 and a rout. The training room told a different story. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made clear after Saturday night's win over Mississippi State that the injuries are becoming a notable issue as November begins, Texas Longhorns on SI reported: 'Graceson Littleton didn't finish the game, Cam Coleman didn't finish the game, Kade Phillips didn't finish the game, Hollywood Smothers didn't finish the game, Ryan Wingo didn't finish the game. The severity of all those guys is unknown at the moment. ... That recovery has to start now for a lot of these guys.'
From SI's press-box observations: cornerback Graceson Littleton — described as arguably Texas's best defensive back, with 27 tackles, five passes defended and an interception this season — appeared to be dealing with an ankle or heel injury, exited early, came out at halftime to test it by running in the end zone, and never returned. Running back Hollywood Smothers suffered a lower-body injury in the second half, sat up holding his left knee and was helped off with both arms around training staff; he finished with four carries for minus-6 yards. Receiver Cam Coleman's early exit — two catches, 61 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive, then sweatpants and a tucked left arm by halftime — was filed separately by this station on Sunday morning. What happened with receiver Ryan Wingo and cornerback Kade Phillips was not clear from observation; Wingo took one low, hard hit and got up gingerly, and Phillips played little in the second half.
The timing is the problem. Texas (6-2, 3-2 SEC) travels to No. 23 Missouri on Saturday, November 7 — a ranked road test the Longhorns can ill afford to take short-handed in the secondary and at receiver. If Smothers is limited, SI noted, Texas will lean again on Raleek Brown and Michael Terry III in the backfield, with Derrek Cooper himself managing a lingering injury. The severity of all five remains, in Sarkisian's word, unknown — the week's availability reports will say more.
