Amidst a report that head coach Steve Sarkisian has interest in the NFL, the No. 22 Texas Longhorns are in Starkville for a matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
Kick is at 3:15 p.m. Central on SEC Network.
The road tilt ends a month on the road for the Longhorns, who have bounced back from a back road loss to the Gators in The Swamp with a rival win over the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl and an overtime victory against the Wildcats in Lexington that feature any style points, but was a game that Sarkisian believes Texas would have lost earlier in his tenure.
The Horns should receive a boost on Saturday from the return of redshirt sophomore running back CJ Baxter, who hasn’t played in six weeks with a hamstring injury. Initially listed as probable on Wednesday’s injury report, Baxter was removed from it on Friday, along with redshirt freshman safety Xavier Filsaime and freshman nickel back Jonathan Cunningham.
Three players are out for Texas — redshirt freshman wide receiver Aaron Butler, senior center Cole Hutson, and redshirt senior safety Michael Taaffe.
Mississippi State starting running back Fluff Bothwell has been listed as questionable since the initial injury report as the Bulldogs try to break through after several close losses in conference play have dropped their record to 4-3.
In warmups, Bothwell was dressed.
According to the broadcast, however, Bothwell will not play against Texas.
First quarter
After receiving the opening kickoff, Mississippi State was stopped for a yard loss on the first play from scrimmage when Texas junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. stopped Davon Booth, who responded with a strong run in traffic for eight yards. On third down, though, quarterback Blake Shapen couldn’t connect with his running back and the Bulldogs had to punt away to Longhorns redshirt sophomore running back/wide receiver Ryan Niblett.
Increasingly dangerous, Niblett picked up 16 yards on his return, setting up a quick scoring drive for the Longhorns when Manning delivered a good ball to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo on a screen pass that went for 60 yards when Wingo broke a tackle and took the sideline for a huge play.
Manning finished the drive with a called run for three yards, but came up hobbling after the play.
The second drive went similarly for the Bulldogs — a three and out after two runs and an incomplete pass by Shapen. A block in the back on Texas junior safety Jelani mcDonald pinned the Longhorns against their own goal line, but junior running back Quintrevion Wisner picked up eight yards on two runs to set up 3rd and 2, a slant for junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell incomplete.
Combining the penalty with the three and out by Texas produced good field position for Mississippi State at its own 40-yard line despite a 47-yard punt by the Horns.
Good push by the Texas defensive line influenced another incompletion by Shapen to start the drive, but Longhorns freshman nickel back Graceson Littleton panicked in coverage on a shot play by the Bulldogs, committing pass interference despite being in phase.
Shapen’s first completion went for 15 yards and moved the ball to the edge of field-goal range before a run for no gain and another misfire by the Mississippi State quarterback led to 3rd and 10 and a tipped pass by Texas redshirt senior linebacker Trey Moore to force a field-goal attempt blocked by Longhorns senior jack end Ethan Burke.
In Baxter’s return, he only gained one yard on his first run and Manning put a screen pass into the grass before taking a sack when Mississippi State targeted freshman left guard Nick Brooks in pass protection.
At that point, the ability to play complementary football fell apart for Texas with a shanked punt by redshirt senior Jack Bouwmeester and chunk plays allowed by the defense — a pass of 10 yards, a run of 10 yards, and a pass of 20 yards.
The Longhorns defense initially stiffened in the red zone, stopping two runs for no gain, but proceeded to give up a pass over the middle to a backup tight end for a 13-yard touchdown and a 7-7 tie.
Manning connected with Moore for a 12-yard completion to open its ensuing drive before Moore committed a false start and the Bulldogs teed off with a blitz and forced Manning to throw a check down to Wisner that lost three yards and a screen to junior tight end Jack Endries that lost a yard. Stepping up in the pocket on 3rd and 19, Manning threw a good pass to Wingo that was dropped by the wide receiver.
Four rushes by Mississippi State led to a turnover on downs when Texas made two short-yardage stops and the Longhorns responded with three runs for 17 yards before redshirt sophomore tight end Spencer Shannon committed a false-start penalty to force a 3rd and 8. Under predictable pressure, Manning took a big hit while delivering a big-time 14-yard throw to Moore that ended the first quarter.
Second quarter
Baxter ran for no gain on the first play of the second quarter and Manning took a run to the left for five yards. On a double move for Wingo, Manning rushed the throw and it misfired badly when the Mississippi State cornerback sat on the stem and played it physically. Although the Longhorns were forced to attempt a field goal that was deflected, but went through, the drive was extended on a penalty by the Bulldogs, leading to a run by Baxter pushed towards the goal line and forcing a review.
The ball placement was upheld and a run up the middle by Baxter was stuffed, but Sarkisian dialed up a good play-action pass that Manning completed to redshirt freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
Mississippi State gained further momentum offensively by hitting multiple chunk plays, including a 26-yard pass, a 12-yard run by Shapen, and a 24-yard completion into the red zone. Booth nearly scored a touchdown on a six-yard run that the Bulldogs didn’t want to allow time for review, leading to an incompletion by Shapen. On fourth and goal from the 1-yard line, the play-action pass was deflected by McDonald before finding the hands of the intended receiver to tie the game at 14-14.
Trying to get Niblett the ball on consecutive plays led to a 3rd and 11. The Texas offensive line did well enough to allow Manning to climb the pocket and scramble for 15 yards. Despite a six-yard gain by Wisner on the ensuing first down, the second-down completion resulted in a loss and another blown pass protection on third down put Manning under quick pressure and ended the drive.
A 12-yard pass to former Texas wide receiver Brenen Thompson marked a promising start to the Mississippi State drive that quickly fizzled with three incompletions.
Trying to hit a big play, Manning forced the ball into coverage and Livingstone took a hit to his lower body as the ball arrived, leading to an interception returned for 25 yards tot he Texas 40-yard line.
Mississippi State threatened to take the lead with 36 yards on four runs down to the Texas 5-yard line. Shapen was sacked for a six-yard loss on the next play that ultimately led to a 24-yard field goal by the Bulldogs and a 17-14 lead with 2:30 remaining in the first half.
Looking for some momentum before the second quarter ended, Sarkisian called a fake end around handoff to Wisner that was fumbled and lost six yards. Even without the fumble, the play had no chance of succeeding because of the poor blocking up front.
Things only went further downhill for Texas to end the half as Mississippi State mounted a six-play, 60-yard drive that only took 1:05 and culminated with junior cornerback Manny Muhammad giving up a 23-yard touchdown pass to former Longhorns wide receiver Brenen Thompson.
The 24-14 lead by the Bulldogs held up at halftime after the Horns tried to score before the half but could only pick up one first down when Manning once again settled for a check down to Wisner that lost nine yards.
Third quarter
Texas survived 3rd and 6 to open the second half when Manning found Moore for nine yards. When Sarkisian went back to a screen pass to Wingo, it paid off again as the big, explosive receiver found a seam and exploded for 47 yards.
After Mississippi State avoided a penalty for an obvious tripping penalty when Manning tried to scramble, Texas gave up third-down pressure on its quarterback that led to an incompletion and a field-goal attempt from redshirt senior kicker Mason Shipley, who missed from 29 yards, his first miss of less than 30 yards after hitting his first 13.
When Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby was faced with a decision whether to punt or go for a 4th and 1 at his own 40-yard line, the decision to punt the ball away felt like an indictment of a bad Longhorns offense.
And it was — after gaining eight yards on two runs, Texas was in an advantageous third-down situation needing only two yards, but Manning threw a bad pass intended for sophomore wide receiver Emmett Mosley that went incomplete.
The Texas defense showed some fight in a critical situation, forcing Mississippi State into a 4th and 2, an aggressive pass call that was covered well and ended with a sack of Shapen.
On a critical drive, the Longhorns were able to get into an ideal third-and-short situation in four-d0wn territory, but because the offense line can’t pass block, Sarkisian asked sophomore tight end Jordan Washington to pass block. Because Washington is bad as pass blocking, he wasn’t able to execute his pass block, which led to a sack of Manning and a punt instead of an opportunity to go for it on fourth down.
Three straight explosive passing plays by Mississippi State included a questionable personal foul penalty on McDonald, leading to a red-zone trip the ended with a touchdown pass by Shapen that felt like it effectively put the game out of reach at 31-14.
Fourth quarter
Despite facing 3rd and 10 after a screen pass to Wisner lost a yard, Manning was able to scramble to buy enough time to hit Wingo on a post route for 62 yards. Consecutive pass-interference penalties by Mississippi State kept inching Texas closer to the goal line until freshman tight end Nick Townsend was called for a false-start penalty that set the Longhorns back five critical yards.
Moving the pocket for Manning allowed enough time to find Livingstone in the end zone as the Texas wide receiver did a remarkable job of getting his feet right and extending his long arms outside of his 6’4 frame to make the six-yard touchdown catch and narrow the deficit to 31-21.
And then the game was effectively over again when Shapen made a remarkable improvisation, scrambling and shoveling the ball to Booth for a 62-yard touchdown to extend the lead back to 17 points.
Needing to score quickly, Texas failed to convert its fifth third and short of the game, but was bailed out on fourth down when Deonte Anderson was called for roughing the passer. On 3rd and 6, however, Manning checked down to Wisner, who made a defender miss and picked up 10 yards. A throw to Wingo gained 15 yards, but a second target went high and incomplete. The next pass found Mosley in the end zone on a sliding catch to once again narrow the deficit to 10, 38-28.
Able to get Mississippi State into 3rd and 12, Texas send Hill on a blitz that resulted in a sack and a punt by the Bulldogs that outkicked the coverage, a dangerous proposition with Niblett returning it, although the gain only amounted to nine yards.
A go route to Wingo resulted in an incompletion against good coverage before Manning hit Endries over the middle for six and Moore on an out-breaking route for 12 yards. Good patience by Wisner nearly broke a long run as he settled for nine yards. Trying to hit Livingstone deep, offsetting penalties resulted in 2nd and 1 again, a pass that was deflected at the line and fortunately found the Wade Davis Stadium turf.
On a throwback to Wisner, the Texas running back showed some dynamic ability in the open field to pick up 15 yards. Manning had Wisner come open briefly on a wheel route, but couldn’t complete, bouncing back to hit Livingstone for a first down into the red zone. Targeting Endires over the middle instead of Wisner wide, the Texas tight end dropped the pass and Manning was sacked on second down. A third-down throw for Wingo using a rub route was hard and went through his hands, forcing the Horns to settle for a field goal and a seven-point deficit.
Able to set up 3rd and 1, Mississippi State took its first timeout with 2:52 remaining to call the right play, a wide run to the backup quarterback that was stuffed. Another long kick into the middle of the field was finally enough for the Bulldogs to pay as Niblett returned it 79 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
Thompson caught a big third-down conversion on 3rd and 4 and Evans subsequently made an 11-yard reception to threaten field-goal range with Mississippi State getting into 3rd and 6 on a Shapen scramble, but the Bulldogs quarterback fumbled in the critical moment and was lucky to recover.
The game headed into overtime after the win probability for the home team reached 98.6 percent early in the fourth quarter.
Overtime
Sarkisian had to scramble to call a timeout before the first play from scrimmage in overtime. After the timeout, Manning scrambled for 13 yards, but took a big hit and the end of it and had to leave the game. With redshirt senior backup Matthew Caldwell into the game, Wisner took a handoff for seven yards before miscommunication resulted in an illegal snap on the Texas center and Caldwell had Mosley open in the end zone on a play initially ruled incomplete before it was overturned on review for a Longhorns touchdown.
Two incompletions thrown by Shapen but the Bulldogs in a difficult position after taking over needing a touchdown and point-after to tie it. Hit hard by Texas sophomore edge Colin Simmons, Shapen threw into the ground on third down, setting up 4th and 10 that turned into 4th and 15 because of a false start and then 4th and 20 because of another false start, prompting Lebby to call a timeout.
It didn’t matter, as Shapen was sacked and fumbled to end the game in a remarkable 45-38 win by the Longhorns.
