No. 19 Texas blows 21-point halftime lead but still does enough to beat No. 7 Ole Miss

No. 19 Texas coughed up a 21-point lead but did enough in the fourth quarter to take down No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27.

The Longhorns led 24-3 at halftime and proceeded to give up 21 straight points as Ole Miss tied the game. But Arch Manning’s short touchdown run with 8:04 to go put the Longhorns ahead for good before a curious tactical decision hurt Ole Miss’ chances of winning the game.

But the Rebels still somehow had a shot to at least tie the game in the final minutes.

After kicking a field goal to cut Texas’ lead to seven inside the final two minutes, the Rebels needed to recover an onside kick. And they did after the kick bounced off multiple players.

But without any timeouts, Ole Miss ran out of time. The Rebels got to the Texas 24-yard line, but Trinidad Chambliss’ last-gasp pass was intercepted in the end zone.

After Manning gave Texas a 31-24 lead, Ole Miss started with the ball on its own 47-yard line after a late hit penalty on the ensuing kickoff return. The Rebels gained just 12 yards and faced fourth-and-10 from the Texas 41-yard line while trailing by seven.

A field goal would simply cut Texas’ lead to four with just over six minutes to go. The Rebels would still need to find the end zone or kick two more field goals to take the lead. And yet, Ole Miss coach Pete Golding sent out Lucas Carneiro for a 58-yard field goal attempt.

The play clock was winding down as the strong-legged Carneiro lined up for the kick. Instead of taking a delay of game and punting — a defensible decision given the game context — Golding called his first timeout. He then kept Carneiro on the field to try to cut the lead to four.

The kick was blocked.

Texas then drained nearly four minutes off the clock before Gianni Spetic’s short field goal made it a two-possession lead that Ole Miss ultimately couldn’t overcome.