​Tennessee football and quarterback Faizon Brandon ran into a rock solid Texas defense for a 20-17 loss to the No. 1-ranked Longhorns on Sept. 26 at Neyland Stadium.The 13th-ranked Vols (3-1, 0-1 SEC) almost pulled off an improbable upset. Brandon tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 remaining to cut Texas’ lead to 20-17. Arion Carter recovered the ensuing onside kick with 1:21 remaining to give the Vols a chance to tie or win it. But Brandon’s Hail Mary pass was incomplete as time expired.Before that, Tennessee was strong on defense, and it scored on touchdown on a punt return. But the Longhorns (4-0, 1-0) looked like the best defense in college football.This was Texas’ first trip in Knoxville in program history, and it made the most of it.The game was a spectacle from start to finish. ESPN’s “College GameDay” was on the field just before kickoff. President Trump arrived as the national anthem played. Celebrities were on site like Peyton Manning, Glen Powell and Shane Gillis. And all of it was framed by an orange-and-white Checker Neyland pattern of fans packing the stadium.On the field, defense was the story. Tennessee frustrated quarterback Arch Manning and kept the Longhorns from pulling away. Texas swarmed Brandon, the freshman quarterback, and essentially grounded the Tennessee offense. The Vols managed only 221 yards of total offense.Tennessee plays Auburn on Oct. 3 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN) at Neyland Stadium. But first, let’s wrap up Week 4.Here are five takeaways from this SEC opener.Tennessee football vs. Texas takeawaysTexas defense smothered Faizon Brandon, Vols offenseBrandon was under duress throughout his first SEC game. Texas sacked him 10 times, including five by edge rusher Colin Simmons.Brandon held the ball too long on some plays. He didn’t have enough time to attempt a pass on others. He took some vicious hit and briefly left the game in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury following a rushing attempt.Brandon finally broke through with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 remaining. He finished 17-of-29 passing for 145 yards, one TD and no interceptions.Arch Manning, Tennessee defense battledAfter a hot start by Arch Manning, the Tennessee defense shook up the Texas quarterback.First, the Vols pass rush got to him. He was sacked by Xavier Gilliam and Tyree Weathersby. Then Kayin Lee intercepted a deep pass by Manning. And stingy pass coverage forced him to attempt two illegal forward passes beyond the line of scrimmage for penalties.But Manning, the nephew of iconic Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, did enough damage to protect the Longhorns’ lead. He finished 14-of-19 passing for 201 yards, no TDs and one interception. And he was sacked six times.Qua Moss punt return TD ignited Neyland StadiumTennessee’s offense couldn’t reach the end zone in the first half. But Qua Moss did the job on special teams with a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter to tie t