The No. 22 Texas Longhorns were dead in the water when the fourth quarter started against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville on Saturday as the home team nursed a 15-game losing streak in conference play.
Arch Manning and the offense came alive in the fourth quarter, aided by another huge punt return from Ryan Niblett, to send the game to overtime after trailing the Bulldogs by 17 points to start the final frame. While Texas escaped Starkville with an unlikely win, there’s still a lot to be desired from the Longhorns if they’re going to continue to grow into the team they should be.
There need to be changes on offense
Despite the offense scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime, they looked listless for most of the game, and Coleman Hutzler’s unit had its way with the Longhorns. The Texas running backs combined for 68 yards on 21 carries and no touchdowns. As a team, they went for 2.37 yards per carry and were stuffed on four of those 21 carries.
The offensive line’s lack of athleticism also showed in a major way, getting beaten regularly by the Mississippi State front, giving up five sacks, three hurries, and 12 tackles for loss, keeping the offense behind the chains. At the skill positions, Texas needs to continue to improve, especially receiver Ryan Wingo, who, despite putting up nearly 200 yards, received criticism for drops in key moments.
Hurting the effort were the rotations — center Cole Hutson replaced by backup Connor Robertson, right guard DJ Campbell replaced for a time by former left guard Connor Stroh, and Stroh filling in for freshman Nick Brooks on the other side.
Texas can’t survive another bad defensive game
Going into the game, Texas had allowed just 11.3 points per game and hadn’t surrendered more than 30 points this season. Pete Kwiatkowski’s unit struggled with Jeff Lebby’s Veer and Shoot, giving up 445 yards and 38 points, seemingly struggling with the speed and aggression of the Mississippi State wide receivers. It seems like Kwiatkowski doesn’t trust the corners to play man, but they struggle with soft zone and leaving space underneath for opponents to make plays as quarterback Blake Shapen threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns.
That being said, the defense came up with major stops in the late game, with back-to-back three-and outs, a punt, and a turnover on downs for the Bulldogs’ final four drives. That level of fight and tenacity from the defense, in a game where most teams would have given up, speaks volumes for what Texas can and should build in to.
Arch Manning has the goods to grow into his potential
Arch Manning had the best game of his career, despite the struggles by the supporting cast, and it took every bit of it to come away with a win. The former five-star quarterback put up a career-high 346 passing yards and four total touchdowns, and even his one interception wasn’t truly on him — he put a catchable ball out to Parker Livingstone, who let the ball careen off his hands and to a defender.
He also used his feet effectively, despite the lack of called runs on the day for him, with just two called keepers for seven yards, one of which went for a touchdown. He also scrambled for 15 yards on a 3rd and 10 to keep a drive alive and for 13 yards in overtime on the play that resulted in his exit from the game.
That’s not to say Manning was anywhere close to perfect — he missed a few passes — but this was easily his best performance of the season. If he is healthy and can build on this performance, the Longhorns have a chance to gain some momentum in the last stage of the season.
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