If Texas football wants to crawl back into the Playoff picture, it won’t be Arch Manning ’s arm that gets them there. It’ll be their bruising, bend-but-don’t-break defense. The Longhorns have survived on that formula all season, holding opponents to just 11.3 points per game, third-best in the nation behind Ohio State and Oklahoma. But that defensive wall just took a crack, and it’s shaped like a broken thumb.

Star safety and team captain Michael Taaffe underwent surgery Monday after injuring his thumb late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s narrow 16-13 overtime escape against Kentucky. The good news is that the All-American’s season isn’t over, according to KVUE’s Cory Mose’s update on X on October 21. “ Going into the surgery on Monday, the doctor really wasn’t optimi

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