Arch Manning and No. 19 Texas hold off No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27 after blowing a 21-point lead

No. 19 Texas built a 24-3 halftime lead, watched it disappear and still found a way to beat No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27 on Saturday night, Oct. 24, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Arch Manning threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, and Jelani McDonald intercepted Trinidad Chambliss in the end zone on the final play, according to the Associated Press.

The win snapped a two-game skid for the Longhorns (5-2, 2-2 SEC), who had dropped consecutive games to unranked opponents after giving up double-digit leads, the AP reported. Ole Miss fell to 5-2 (3-2 SEC). A crowd of 104,306 attended, according to Texas Athletics.

Ole Miss vs. Texas final score

How Texas built the lead

Texas controlled the first half. Manning scored on a 2-yard run late in the first quarter, hit Ryan Wingo for a 50-yard touchdown early in the second and handed off to sophomore Michael Terry III for a 2-yard score, his first collegiate touchdown, per Texas Athletics. The Longhorns’ defense held Ole Miss to a single field goal before the break, the fewest first-half points the Rebels had scored since a 2023 game against Mississippi State, the school said.

Ole Miss nearly got back in it before halftime when punter Oscar Bird ran 17 yards on a fake punt, but Texas made a goal-line stand to keep the margin at 21, the AP reported.

How Ole Miss came all the way back

The second half flipped fast. On Texas’ first possession of the third quarter, Manning was hit from his blind side by Blake Purchase, and Kam Franklin recovered the loose ball in the end zone for an Ole Miss touchdown, according to the AP. Franklin later sacked Manning head-on, sending him to the sideline briefly for a medical check before he returned.

Chambliss then threw two touchdown passes to Horatio Fields: a 6-yard catch in the third quarter on a drive helped by Texas defensive penalties, and a contested 27-yard grab early in the fourth that tied the game at 24. Texas finished with season highs of 14 penalties for 134 yards, the AP said.

Arch Manning’s go-ahead run and the wild finish

With the game tied, Raleek Brown broke a 47-yard run, and Manning faked a handoff and walked untouched around the end for a 1-yard touchdown with 8:04 left to make it 31-24. Defensive lineman Alex January then blocked an Ole Miss field goal try, and Gianni Spetic hit a 33-yarder for a 34-24 lead with 2:25 to go, per Texas Athletics.

It still wasn’t over. Lucas Carneiro’s 39-yard field goal cut it to seven, and Texas receiver Emmett Mosley IV couldn’t hang on to the onside kick, letting Ole Miss recover, the AP reported. Chambliss’ last throw into the end zone was picked off by McDonald. The AP noted it was the second time this season Texas had to survive a final-play end-zone pass after an opponent recovered an onside kick, following its 20-17 win over Tennessee.

Key stats

Texas outgained Ole Miss 419-363, ran for 207 yards and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes, according to the team stats posted by Texas Athletics. Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer also had interceptions.

The Manning family angle

The game drew extra attention because of Manning’s family ties to Ole Miss. His uncle Eli Manning and grandfather Archie Manning both played quarterback for the Rebels, which made this the second “Manning Bowl” of the season, USA Today reported. Eli said on a podcast earlier this month that he would root for his nephew: “You root for family in these scenarios. It’s bigger than your college, it’s bigger than where you went.”

Manning had faced growing scrutiny after costly fourth-quarter turnovers in the two losses, USA Today noted. The AP wrote that Saturday’s win cooled some of the criticism aimed at Manning and coach Steve Sarkisian. Texas Athletics said it was Manning’s fifth career win as a starter over an AP top-10 team, the most of any active FBS quarterback.

What’s next

Texas wraps up a three-game homestand against Mississippi State on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC or ESPN, according to Texas Athletics.

FAQ