OTF Premium Snap Judgments: No. 19 Texas does enough to get a much-needed win over No. 7 Ole Miss

[Jeff Howe]

Forget the SEC championship, the College Football Playoff or anything besides No. 19 Texas hanging on for a 34-27 win over No. 7 Ole Miss.

The Longhorns stopped the bleeding from a two-game losing streak.

It wasn’t pretty.

Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) tied the Steve Sarkisian-era single-game record with 14 penalties and set a new single-game high with 121 penalty yards.

A 24-3 halftime lead evaporated in the second half. The Rebels scored 21 points to tie the game while the Longhorns were mired in an all-too-familiar lull, with five consecutive possessions ending in a fumble, three punts and an interception.

For the second time in SEC play, the hands team couldn’t recover a late-game onside kick. The botched recovery made this Texas' third conference game decided on the last play.

Nevertheless, the Longhorns overcame their second-half struggles to get a much-needed win. The offense ended the game with a pair of scoring drives and the defense, although things got leaky in coverage, forced a punt, blocked a field goal and intercepted Trinidad Chambliss for the third time on three of Ole Miss’ (5-2, 3-2) last four possessions.

***

Sarkisian, to his credit, was committed to the run down the stretch and it paid off. Raleek Brown and Michael Terry III carried the ball on the first five plays of a 6-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.

Other than a short pass to Ryan Wingo on the first play of the Longhorns’ last drive, Arch Manning was involved in two plays: his 1-yard touchdown run (on a bootleg that was wide open, similar to his first touchdown, both of which were good calls by Sarkisian, since Manning hasn't been the ball carrier in those situations) and a 2-yard scramble on the play before Gianni Spetic’s 33-yard field goal.

With 207 yards on 42 official rushing attempts, Texas improved to 25-2 under Sarkisian when recording at least 40 official rushing attempts in a game. Although the 40-carry mark includes plays like sacks and kneel-downs, it reflects a dedicated effort to run the football.

That’s what Sarkisian did to get the offense in gear in the fourth quarter.

***

Brown’s 157 yards (6.8 yards per carry) is the best yardage day by a Longhorn since Tre Wisner went for 186 yards in the 2024 regular-season finale against Texas A&M. Wingo’s 111-yard performance included a 50-yard touchdown catch from Manning.

Their efforts made Saturday’s win the first Texas game with a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver since Jonathon Brooks and Xavier Worthy did it against TCU on Nov. 11, 2023.

Even though the offense mustered just 19 net yards in the third quarter, the Longhorns finished the game with 419 total yards (5.8 yards per play). Since joining the SEC, Texas is 9-0 when it records at least 400 total yards.

***

Brown’s ability to read zone runs and hit open cutback lanes helped Texas avoid a third consecutive loss. Brown ran with vision and violence, two things he hasn’t shown consistently as a Longhorn.

***

When Texas needed some thump in the running game, Terry delivered (41 yards and a touchdown on eight carries). Terry’s two explosive runs (12 yards and 19 yards) on the 80-yard touchdown drive made him the big, physical back between the tackles the Longhorns figured they'd miss with Derrek Cooper not yet back to 100 percent.

***

Rasheem Biles was all over the field. It’s hard to believe he was credited with only four tackles (one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and four quarterback hurries).

Biles’ fourth-and-goal interception was one of the game's pivotal plays. He also pressured Chambliss on a critical third down in the first half, forcing a rushed throw that fell incomplete as the Rebels settled for a field goal.

On a day when Will Muschamp manufactured pressure with the absence of Colin Simmons, Biles pressured Chambliss and was around the ball on critical downs.

***

Along with Biles, Justin Cryer (five tackles, an interception and a pass breakup) came up big for the Longhorns. Chambliss tested the Texas linebackers in coverage and they were up for the challenge.

***

Muschamp deserves a lot of credit for Chambliss’ rough start. He dialed up different pressures, but showing blitz and then dropping defenders seemed to throw off Chambliss’ timing in the first half.

***

Things are by no means fixed on the Forty Acres.

Sarkisian must resolve the team’s third-quarter woes (I still don’t know why he gets away from things that work early). The kicking game is still way too feast-or-famine. Penalties remain a problem. Manning had moments of brilliance mixed with critical mistakes and the offense left points on the field. Ole Miss had 162 of its 364 total yards (44.5 percent) in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Longhorns deserve credit for pulling it together and executing well enough, long enough to win. While this team shows no signs of getting off the rollercoaster any time soon, Saturday’s win was one in which their stretches of good play outweighed the bad.

 

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[Califashorn75]

The key was Raleek Brown getting those important yards during the 4th quarter. 

[Roy Hinojosa]

Did this team show anything tonight that we can build off from? Did we see enough growth in this game from Arch Manning?

[Roy Hinojosa]

 

[JimR6]

What is the deal with Cooper? What did he injure? No snaps for two straight games? Terry showed he can play.

[SB21]

I’m just glad we got the W

Cam dropping that open TD hurt

that fake punt hurt 

Raleek and Terry was huge for us down the stretch. 

Muschamp and the defense played a hell of a game by limiting Chambliss until the 4th quarter

Can’t believe we lost another onside kick 

but Arch and the team swag in the first half helped us build enough of a lead to weather the storm from ole Miss come back and then we finally closed it out properly 

heck of a team win at home against a tough opponent compared to losing to two unranked teams in back to back weeks where we should of won. 

[UT Longhorn]

4 minutes ago, Roy Hinojosa said:

Did this team show anything tonight that we can build off from? Did we see enough growth in this game from Arch Manning?

Quick game and running the football

[UT Longhorn]

Just now, JimR6 said:

What is the deal with Cooper? What did he injure? No snaps for two straight games? Terry showed he can play.

Sark said he was dinged up and also sick this week

[HonkEm]

Just got home from the game.

First, the crowd was outstanding. Way louder than the Florida game. The fans in the stadium showed up.

Second, this team has an incredible ability to turn a comfortable situation into a blood pressure test. Every time it feels like we're about to put somebody away, we spend a quarter trying to revive them. That third quarter was brutal.

Third, I made the mistake of reading part of the game thread. Holy hell.

Some of you don't actually watch Texas football hoping Texas wins. You watch hoping your favorite complaint gets validated. The second something goes wrong, you're sprinting to the keyboard like you've been training for it all week.

Think about that. Texas wins, and your favorite part isn't the win. It's board politics.

That's when you know some people have completely lost the plot.

Criticize the coaches. Criticize the players. Criticize the third quarter. That's fair game. But if a Texas victory leaves you angry because it ruins your weekly doom-and-gloom routine, maybe you're more invested in being right than seeing Texas succeed.

The crowd in DKR sounded like they wanted Texas to win. A chunk of the game thread sounded like they were rooting for evidence.

The folks in the stadium were trying to help Texas win. The folks in the game thread were trying to win arguments they started three months ago. That's a pretty telling difference. 😏

[khorn28]

4 minutes ago, Roy Hinojosa said:

Did this team show anything tonight that we can build off from? Did we see enough growth in this game from Arch Manning?

He played with more urgency, especially in the first half (long first down run, recognizing and getting rid of it vs blitz, perfect deep balls to Coleman and wingo). 

Have to reel in the bad decisions/being loose with the ball.

[kren]

Penalties are an issue. That being said I cannot stand this officiating crew. Nobody in the SEC likes them, and worse yet the lead ref has an incredibly punchable face.

[akrupa23]

Just now, kren said:

Penalties are an issue. That being said I cannot stand this officiating crew. Nobody in the SEC likes them, and worse yet the lead ref has an incredibly punchable face.

#BringBackKevinMar

[UT Longhorn]

2 minutes ago, akrupa23 said:

#BringBackKevinMar

Those two play pickleball together twice a week

[Jeff Howe]

Going into the game, I said this would be a test of the individual football character in the locker room. You don't have that start or finish without some.

[Jeff Howe]

32 minutes ago, Roy Hinojosa said:

Did this team show anything tonight that we can build off from? Did we see enough growth in this game from Arch Manning?

While the third quarter nearly made everything for naught, this is the most prolonged stretch of quality play we've seen Texas put together against a quality opponent this season. That's something.

As for Arch, he looked more decisive and sure of himself in the first half, even when he made mistakes. It felt like they were chasing the knockout punch in the second half instead of focusing on throwing body blows. They eventually did that when Sark leaned into the run game.

[Jeff Howe]

29 minutes ago, JimR6 said:

What is the deal with Cooper? What did he injure? No snaps for two straight games? Terry showed he can play.

He's still dealing with the ankle (I believe) and was sick this week (with what exactly, I don't know).

[Jeff Howe]

38 minutes ago, Califashorn75 said:

The key was Raleek Brown getting those important yards during the 4th quarter. 

He stepped up, big time. He looked like a different guy, but that can happen to backs when they get into a rhythm.

[Jeff Howe]

31 minutes ago, SB21 said:

I’m just glad we got the W

Cam dropping that open TD hurt

that fake punt hurt 

Raleek and Terry was huge for us down the stretch. 

Muschamp and the defense played a hell of a game by limiting Chambliss until the 4th quarter

Can’t believe we lost another onside kick 

but Arch and the team swag in the first half helped us build enough of a lead to weather the storm from ole Miss come back and then we finally closed it out properly 

heck of a team win at home against a tough opponent compared to losing to two unranked teams in back to back weeks where we should of won. 

The good stretches were good enough for long enough to outweigh the third-quarter mess.

[charlie990]

If I was as bad at my job as Jeff banks I would be athletic director rn 

[Jeff Howe]

8 minutes ago, kren said:

Penalties are an issue. That being said I cannot stand this officiating crew. Nobody in the SEC likes them, and worse yet the lead ref has an incredibly punchable face.

Kills the flow of the game. Way too tightly officiated for my liking.

[TexShoe]

2 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

He's still dealing with the ankle (I believe) and was sick this week (with what exactly, I don't know).

So the probable label was pure BS

[charlie990]

Surprisingly very PK-like bend don’t break defense today

[Jeff Howe]

Just now, TexShoe said:

So the probable label was pure BS

He was off the pre-game injury report, FWIW. I don't know Sark's rationale for why they give guys certain designations.

[ArizonaLonghorn]

37 minutes ago, JimR6 said:

What is the deal with Cooper? What did he injure? No snaps for two straight games? Terry showed he can play.

He actually played a little early and caught a pass for 7 yards.  But Terry played well.

[TexShoe]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

He was off the pre-game injury report, FWIW. I don't know Sark's rationale for why they give guys certain designations.

not taking it out you Jeff.  the whole injury designation thing is a a joke.