No. 19 Texas took a 21-point lead, but did enough in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27.
The Longhorns led 24-3 at halftime and gave up 21 straight points as Ole Miss tied the game. Arch Manning’s short touchdown run with 8:04 left gave the Longhorns the lead for good before a curious tactical decision hurt Ole Miss’ chances of winning the game.
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But the Rebels still had a chance to at least tie the game in the final minutes.
After scoring a field goal to cut Texas’ lead to seven in the final two minutes, the Rebels had to recover an onside kick. And they did so after the kick bounced off several players.
But with no timeouts, Ole Miss ran out of time. The Rebels reached the Texas 24-yard line, but Trinidad Chambliss’ final pass was intercepted in the end zone.
After Manning gave Texas a 31-24 lead, Ole Miss started with the ball at its own 47-yard line after a late penalty on the ensuing kickoff return. The Rebels gained only 12 yards and faced fourth-and-10 from the Texas 41-yard line while trailing by seven.
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A field goal would simply cut Texas’ lead to four with just over six minutes left. The Rebels would still have to find the end zone or make two more field goals to take the lead. And yet Ole Miss coach Pete Golding sent Lucas Carneiro in for a 58-yard field goal attempt.
The game clock was winding down as the strong-legged Carneiro lined up for the kick. Instead of falling behind in the game and punting – a defensible decision given the context of the game – 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 lost nearly four minutes before Gianni Spetic’s short field goal gave it a two-possession lead that Ole Miss ultimately couldn’t overcome.
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Another uneven performance for the Texan offense
Texas is still looking to put together a complete game.
The Longhorns looked like the preseason top five team they were presented as in the first half as they scored three straight touchdowns to build that 24-3 lead. The Longhorns dominated in the second quarter, as Manning found Ryan Wingo for a 50-yard touchdown after running for his first score.
But Manning also turned the ball over three times. With starting left tackle Trevor Goosby pulled in the first half and unavailable, Manning fumbled on the first drive of the third quarter after snap pressure on the left side. This fumble was recovered by Kam Franklin in the end zone for an Ole Miss touchdown.
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Texas then punted three straight times as Ole Miss tied the game and Manning threw his second pick of the game on a horrible triple coverage call early in the fourth quarter.
It was a part that could have been expensive. Instead, the Texas defense quickly forced a punt and the Longhorns drove 80 yards in six plays for Manning’s touchdown.
This drive was powered by running back Raleek Brown, who shouldered much of the rushing workload with Hollywood Smothers sidelined with a shoulder injury. Brown finished the game with 23 carries for 157 yards.
The SEC is wide, wide open
There are still five weeks of the regular season remaining. But if the season ended today, Georgia would face Kentucky in the SEC championship game.
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The Bulldogs and Wildcats are the only two SEC teams with just one conference loss through Week 8. Thanks to Texas’ win, eight teams currently have two league losses, while four others have three.
Georgia and Kentucky will not face each other in 2026, although both still have three ranked teams on their conference schedule. We are confident that one or both participants in the league title game will experience two conference losses.
However, we have no idea who these teams will be. But one thing is certain: tiebreakers are going to be in play.
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