The Texas Longhorns have kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive for at least one more week.
No. 19 Texas held off No. 7 Ole Miss in a thrilling 34-27 win on Saturday night in Austin. The Longhorns overcame a mistake-filled night that featured multiple turnovers, a botched onside kick, 14 penalties for 134 yards called against them and fumbling away a 24-3 halftime lead.
Texas also lost wide receiver Cam Coleman and left tackle Trevor Goosby to injuries during the game.
But most importantly, the Longhorns got the job done and ended their two-game losing streak after a week that was filled with scrutiny.
Raleek Brown Comes Up Huge for Texas
If not for Raleek Brown's second-half performance, the Longhorns would not have won this game.
Brown had a solid first half, but it was the fourth quarter where he truly came alive. He followed up a season-long 47-yard run -- which led to an Arch Manning touchdown -- with runs of 12 and 28 yards on Texas' game-sealing possession in the closing minutes.
On a night where Hollywood Smothers was out due to a shoulder injury and Derrek Cooper was limited with an illness, Brown finished with 23 carries for 157 yards, by far his best game of the year.
A ton of credit should also go to Texas running back Michael Terry III, who finished with eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, the first of his career.
Texas Defense Puts Together Dominant First Half
The Texas defense had a big first half, and this proved to be exactly what the Longhorns needed to seal the win in the end. Overall, the Longhorns forced Ole Miss into five three-and-outs.
In the first half, the Longhorns held Trinidad Chambliss to 6 of 18 passing for 63 yards, no touchdown and two interceptions. He looked uncharacteristically off.
Things flipped in the third quarter but if not for how impressive the Texas defense was in the first half, the Longhorns would likely not have had enough answers offensively to go blow-for-blow with Chambliss.
It's important to note that Ole Miss' momentum came as a result of their own defense, which finally got its first touchdown with a strip-sack score of Arch Manning.
But from that point on, the Longhorns were unable to stop the bleeding in the third quarter. It appeared that the masterclass that Will Muschamp's unit put on in the first half against Chambliss was quickly going to be forgotten.
Chambliss had his way with the Texas secondary in the second half, and the Longhorns didn't exactly help themselves with a seemingly countless amount of penalties in pass coverage.
But regardless of what happened in the third quarter, the Texas defense did just enough in the fourth quarter, forcing Ole Miss to punt and attempt a 58-yard field goal after the quarter-opening touchdown.
Fittingly, the defense ended closed things out. Jelani McDonald came up with the game-sealing interception in the end zone, the third pick of the night for Chambliss.
Arch Manning Bounces Back, Despite Some Mistakes
Arch Manning was far from perfect but he made the plays that gave Texas its 21-point lead in the first half and was steady in the fourth quarter to help close things out.
Manning finished 18 of 30 passing for 212 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions along with two scores on the ground.
He looked confident and comfortable in the first half, both through the air and with his legs.
The interceptions were poor throws that he will want to forget. The sack fumble could have been avoided if he didn't hold onto the ball for too long but Andre Cojoe has allowed the defensive end to get free quick off the edge.
The Texas offense lead on the ground game in the fourth quarter but Manning made the plays he needed to, including the boot-leg one-yard rushing touchdown to put Texas back in front.
Third Quarter Nightmares Continue
Different week, slightly different story for Texas. Despite the win, the Longhorns continue to have massive issues in the third quarter.
While fans certainly wanted to see improvement from the Texas offense, it's safe to say no one saw a 24-3 halftime lead coming.
Surely that lead was too big for Texas to let slip away, right?
Almost.
The Longhorns toughened up and held strong in the fourth quarter. But they could've avoided things from being so tight had they had even just the slightest bit of production on both sides of the ball in the third.
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