Needing a win to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive, the Texas Longhorns managed to secure one Saturday night.
Texas held off an Ole Miss rally and avoided a complete collapse in the second half of a 34-27 win over No. 7 Ole Miss. With the win at Royal-Memorial Stadium, No. 19 Texas (5-2, 2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak.
More: Subscribe to the Statesman's Texas sports newsletter
Saturday's victory was also UT's second over a top-10 opponent this season.
Leading the Longhorns to a victory was running back Raleek Brown, who rushed for 157 yards, and Ryan Wingo, who had 111 receiving yards. The UT defense also intercepted three passes that were thrown by Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who entered the game as a Heisman Trophy contender, with the last of those turnovers being recorded on the game's final snap.
Behind Arch Manning, Texas seizes another double-digit lead
After Ole Miss went 3-and-out on its first drive, the two teams traded field goals. Then things got weird. During a four-play sequence in the first quarter, the following headlines and highlights took place:
- Texas offensive lineman Trevor Goosby suffered an apparent leg injury and was carted off the field.
- Arch Manning was intercepted by Ole Miss cornerback Jalyn Crawford.
- Trinidad Chambliss was intercepted by UT linebacker Justin Cryer.
- Texas receiver Cam Coleman dropped what should have been a 59-yard touchdown.
Thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run by Manning – the quarterback's first rushing score of the season – Texas exited the opening frame with a 10-3 lead. The Longhorns then returned to the end zone in the opening minutes of the second quarter during a touchdown drive that featured Manning rushing for 19 yards on a 3rd-and-17 attempt and Ryan Wingo hauling in a 50-yard toss.
More:
By the end of the first half, Texas had added sophomore running back Michael Terry III's first career touchdown run to the box score and had linebacker Rasheem Biles intercept a 4th-and-goal pass near the goal line in the waning minutes. Those two plays gave UT its largest halftime lead over a ranked opponent since the Longhorns also held a 24-3 edge halfway through their 2024 trip to Michigan.
Ole Miss keeps Texas on its heels, but Longhorns survive
Over its past two losses against Oklahoma and Florida, Texas had built 17-7 and 17-3 leads before spoiling both double-digit advantages. So a sold-out crowd at Royal-Memorial Stadium likely didn't feel much relief at halftime despite the Longhorns' 21-point lead.
And it didn't take long for the Rebels to make those fans sweat.
Ole Miss took advantage of Goosby's absence as Blake Purchase blew past Andre Cojoe on the left side of UT's offensive line to sack Manning and force a fumble that the Rebels recovered for a touchdown. Chambliss then threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to make it a 24-17 game with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
More:
Ole Miss outscored Texas by 14 points in the third quarter and held the Longhorns to 19 yards of offense. To open the fourth quarter, Chambliss then threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Horatio Fields to tie the game.
But Texas finally found a spark on offense in the fourth quarter as Texas put together a six-play, 80-yard drive that consisted of all runs and was capped by Manning's 1-yard run on a bootleg. Although Manning got his second touchdown of the day, the biggest plays on that drive were Brown's 47-yard sprint through the Ole Miss defense and a 19-yard gain by Terry.
Texas blocked an Ole Miss field goal on the following drive, and then added Gianni Spetic's 33-yard kick on the other end. The Rebels had one more rally in them, however, and Ole Miss kicked a field goal and then recovered an onside kick in the final minutes. But after Ole Miss drove to UT's 24-yard-line with nine seconds left, Chambliss threw two incomplete passes before Jelani McDonald intercepted an end-zone heave to end the game.
Longhorns to continue homestand next week against Mississippi State
While attempting to build off any momentum that it seized on Saturday night, Texas will return to Royal-Memorial Stadium next weekend for its third straight home game. Mississippi State will be the Longhorns' guest on Halloween night.
More: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian explains why he likes a 24-team CFP
This season, Mississippi State is 4-3 with a 2-3 mark in SEC play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 23-15 loss to Oklahoma this weekend.
Texas owns a 4-2 lead in an all-time series with Mississippi State that dates back to 1921. The Longhorns have beaten Mississippi State in each of the past two seasons, but Texas had to rally to an overtime win in Starkville last year.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.
This article originally published at Raleek Brown helps No. 19 Texas Longhorns avoid a devastating loss against No. 7 Ole Miss.