Just when it looked as if Mississippi State was going to upset No. 22 Texas – the Bulldogs holding a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter – Arch Manning and the Longhorns stormed back to win a 45-38 overtime thriller in Starkville.
The loss for Mississippi State (4-4, 0-4 SEC) marked the 17th consecutive in conference play, dating back to a 7-3 win over Arkansas under former head coach Zach Arnett on Oct. 21, 2023, as second-year coach Jeff Lebby still looks for his first conference win. The triumph for Texas (6-2, 3-1) was the third in a row for the Longhorns as their College Football Playoff hopes remain alive.
Here’s how Saturday’s game played out.
Scoring summary
After a few traded possessions in the first quarter, Manning tossed a 60-yard pass to Ryan Wingo to set up a 3-yard scoring scamper by Manning. Mississippi State responded to tie it at 7-7 on a 13-yard touchdown connection between Blake Shapen and Sam West.
Manning started the second quarter with a one-yard shovel pass to Parker Livingstone for the score and a 14-7 lead.
The rest of the first half was all Mississippi State with Shapen throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Seydou Traore and Brenen Thompson. Add in a Kyle Ferrie field goal and the Bulldogs were up 24-14 at halftime.
Mississippi State carried that momentum into the second quarter with Shapen finding Thompson again to go up 31-14 going into the fourth quarter.
On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, Manning connected with Livingstone for his second receiving score of the day to make it a 31-21 game. Mississippi State got the points back when running back Davon Booth took a short pass from Shapen 62 yards to the house.
That’s when Texas stormed back. A Manning pass to Emmett Mosley V, a Mason Shipley field goal, and a 79-yard punt return quickly resulted in 17 points on the scoreboard and knotted the game at 38-38.
Mississippi State had a chance to win it on the final drive of regulation, but a few sacks by Texas and a penalty sent the game into overtime.
The Bulldogs won the coin toss before extra play and deferred. On the Longhorns’ first possession, Manning went down with an injury before Matthew Caldwell came in and tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mosley to go up 45-38.
Mississippi State’s possession was a story of incompletions, sacks, and two penalties as the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs and couldn’t pull off the upset.
What the coach said
Lebby said afterward his team is “tired as hell” of just missing out on SEC wins. Earlier in the season, Mississippi State lost in overtime to Tennessee and just last week, an interception ruined what could have been a game-winning field goal opportunity against Florida.
“We certainly stressed the need to be 1-0 for this game and are tired as hell of being close,” he said, clearly frustrated before giving props to Texas. “They were very timely when pushing the ball down the field and giving [Manning] a ton of freedom to run the offense.”
While the Bulldogs totaled 445 yards, the Longhorns made stops when needed, especially in the fourth quarter to climb out of a 17-point hole.
“I think [Texas coach Steve Sarkisian] understands exactly who they are defensively, and they’ve been really, really good,” Lebby said.
Numbers never lie
For Mississippi State, Shapen had a statistically outstanding performance with 385 yards on 26 of 42 passing. He had four touchdowns and no interceptions.
With 27 touches, Booth had 112 yards and a score, while Thompson caught six passes for 76 yards and two scores.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Jahron Manning’s 14 tackles. Dehrion Gollete and Jaray Bledsoe combined for three of the team’s five sacks. Kelley Jones had an interception and two pass break-ups.
Manning led Texas with 346 yards on 29 of 46 passing with three touchdowns and an interception. He added a touchdown on the ground.
Wingo had 184 yards on five catches, while Quintrevion Wisner had 41 yards on 12 carries.
Defensively, Jelani McDonald had 14 tackles. Anthony Hill Jr. had 10 tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
Next up
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs head to Fayetteville to play Arkansas next Saturday at 3 p.m.
Texas: The Longhorns will host Vanderbilt next Saturday at 11 a.m.
