The Texas Longhorns suffered a significant blow on Thursday afternoon, with news coming out that running back Hollywood Smothers is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 season with an injury, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
The senior has already been ruled out of Saturday’s ranked matchup against the Missouri Tigers, and now the expectation is that he won’t return to the field again this year as he deals with a knee ailment. Smothers has played in six games for the Longhorns so far this year, rushing 69 times for 283 yards and two touchdowns.
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As one of the top rushers in the portal this year coming from North Carolina State, Smothers struggled to reach the high expectations placed upon him at Texas, but he was a valuable piece of the offense, despite the Longhorns’ up-and-down season to this point. Injuries were a major factor, as Smothers missed games against the Tennessee Volunteers and Ole Miss Rebels earlier in the year.
Despite the two losses to unranked teams thus far, Texas still sits in a great position in the College Football Playoff race, ranked No. 7 earlier this week, should they stay clean going forward. Even if the Longhorns are to lose one more game, you could make the case for them to get into the tournament, but should they finish at 10-2, there is no question.
Going forward, Texas faces No. 18 Missouri, No. 14 LSU, Arkansas, and Texas A&M to close out the season.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Texas to lose RB Hollywood Smothers for remainder of 2026 season
