The ups and downs of Arch Manning 's first season as Texas' starting quarterback are commanding all the national attention, as expected. But don't sleep on the hot start by the Longhorns' loaded defense. Texas debuts as No. 1 in our initial stop rate standings for the 2025 season.

What is stop rate? It's a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense's effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today's faster-tempo game.

National champ Ohio State finished No. 1 in stop rate last season at 78.5%, a remarkable feat c

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