The ranked showdown of the Texas Longhorns and Ole Miss Rebels served up a thriller with the Longhorns prevailing 34-27 to snap their tailspin and dent the Rebels. Texas, reeling from consecutive defeats against unranked opponents, exploded to a 24-3 halftime lead. After an evenly contested first quarter that saw the Longhorns lead 10-3, Texas tore through the Rebels’ defense with quarterback Arch Manning leading the charge.
Manning who had been criticized for his play in the defeats and was labelled as “edgy” by coach Steve Sarkisian during the week, responded with command and control in the first half as he swaggered in for a rushing touchdown and then connected with wide receiver Ryan Wingo for a 50 yard receiving touchdown.
He then connected with wide receiver Ryan Wingo for a 50 yard receiving touchdown, as the Texas offense proved unremitting, having scored 14 points in the second quarter. It was an abysmal first 30 minutes for the Rebels and their quarterback Trinidad Chambliss as their offense looked disjointed and their defense was shredded. Chambliss could muster only 63 yards with an interception in the red zone to close out the half.
After the intermission, Texas’ recurring inability to finish off games reared its ugly head once more as Manning got sacked and fumbled the ball which the Rebels defense recovered and scored to kickstart the comeback. The beleaguered Rebels offense and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss finally got into a rhythm with a Horatio Fields’ touchdown capping a 10-play drive to slash the lead to 7. The Chambliss – Fields duo would combine for another touchdown as the Rebels scored 14 unanswered points to erase the deficit and tee up a thrilling conclusion.
Texas relied on running back Raleek Brown for 157 yards on 23 carries as Texas grinded to the endzone in the fourth quarter. With nine minutes left, Manning, who had thrown two interceptions to mar his performance, rushed in on a bootleg play to re-establish a Longhorns lead. The Rebels would attempt a 58 yard field goal but it was blocked by Alex January.
Texas banked a field goal of their own to extend their lead to 10 requiring Ole Miss to score twice in the final two minutes. Rebels kicker Lucas Carneiro spilt the sticks on a 39 yard field goal and extraordinarily Ole Miss scooped up the onside kick to give déjà vu to the hosts, but Chambliss’ last minute hail mary attempt was intercepted by Jelani McDonald as Texas survived to revive their playoff hopes.
After the game, Manning spoke about his team’s mentality, “We said all week whatever it takes I think we did that in the fourth quarter.” Manning added that he enjoys when people count him out, “I’ve been hyped up all my life… I think I kind of like being, you know, disregarded and counted out.”
Coach Sarkisian lauded his play saying, “One thing I know about Arch Manning, he’s a fighter,” Sarkisian said. “I like the edgy, kind of borderline arrogant, full-of-swagger Arch. I just feel like that’s when he’s at his best.”
The result gives the Longhorns hope of a playoff appearance an upshot as they rose to 11th in the AP poll rankings while the Rebels slumped to 12th. Texas hosts the Mississippi State Bulldogs while Ole Miss is at the Auburn Tigers on Oct. 31.
