Colin Simmons got insane penalty. Then Steve Sarkisian gave wild quote

Colin Simmons obtained insane penalty. Then Steve Sarkisian offered wild quote.

Key points

• Simmons terrorized Tennessee's offensive line in a 20-17 victory for No.
• Since Simmons' disruptions along the line of scrimmage assisted Texas wriggle out of here with a victory, good thing he did, too.
• Texas linebacker Justin Cryer almost saw the penalty unfolding in front of him in slow motion.
• KNOXVILLE, TN – It's an inexcusable 15-yard penalty, but not a capital offense.
• "I'm not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, " Sarkisian remarked of Simmons' penalty.

That's how Texas coach Steve Sarkisian described one of his star players getting flagged for "simulating using the restroom, " to quote the referee who confirmed the penalty on Texas defensive lineman Colin Simmons.

"I'm not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, " Sarkisian remarked of Simmons' penalty. "We gotta fix it, though, right? That can't continue as we move forward."

Opinion: Texas is best team in college football? You've gotta be kidding after that mess. Winners, losers: Texas defense, Tennessee offensive line highlight SEC showdown.

Simmons terrorized Tennessee's offensive line in a 20-17 victory for No. 1 Texas that came down to the final play. He sacked Faizon Brandon five times and tossed in what'll go down as one of the wackiest penalties in college football history.

"Can't happen. That's a bad football play, " Sarkisian remarked. "We had harped and talked regarding not getting emotional with the crowd, and that was the emotional play. We had a couple others that were close, too. We had a real talk regarding it at halftime, concerning how we needed to play the second half, and we needed to celebrate with one another." "But, " Sarkisian added, "five sacks was pretty cool."

After one of those sacks, the Vols would have faced fourth-and-long from inside their own territory, but Simmons celebrated his sack by pretending to unzip and pee on the field.

In practice, the authorities didn't just flag the unsportsmanlike penalty. The ref proceeded to explain in some colorful detail why Simmons was being penalized.

"We took him out, we addressed it, and put him back in, " Sarkisian remarked of how he handled the penalty.

Texas racked up 11 penalties, but that one stood out. Although Tennessee didn't score after extending the drive, the penalty prevented Texas from gaining possession in good field position.

"I tried to run over there and grab him, " Cryer remarked. "I seen where it was going, and I tried to go grab him before we obtained a penalty, but it was too late. After the play, I just informed him, 'Look, man, we secured to just keep our head.' I know he's having fun, he's excited, but at the end of the day, we don't want to let those plays, those penalties, dictate how the game's going to go."

Penalty aside, Simmons supported dictate how this game would go. He never allowed Brandon to find comfort in the pocket, even if his decision on how to celebrate one of those sacks was particularly, erm, ****-poor.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

Taken together, the developments around colin Simmons got insane penalty. Then Steve Sarkisian gave wild quote point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.