Trailing 20-13 with 4:52 left in the third quarter after Missouri’s Naeshaun Montgomery ripped off a 75-yard touchdown, Texas did something I’ve longed to see under Steve Sarkisian.

The Longhorns scored the game’s final 21 points, 14 of which came during a dominant fourth quarter in Saturday’s 34-20 win over the Tigers in Columbia.

No. 7 Texas (7-2, 4-2 SEC) out-gained 18th-ranked Missouri (6-3, 3-3) by 102 yards (144-42) after falling behind. It played complementary football with Will Muschamp’s defense, which finished strong in the Longhorns’ fourth win of the season over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent.

***

After the Tigers pulled ahead, the Texas defense forced the following outcomes on Missouri’s last five possessions:

— Six plays, punt

— Three-and-out

— Three-and-out

— Three plays, forced fumble (the only turnover forced by the Longhorns)

— Turnover on downs

***
Whether Arch Manning (28-for-38, 297 yards and three touchdowns) fumbled or threw an incomplete pass on third-and-10 from the Tigers’ 39-yard line late in the third quarter will be the subject of debate in the coming days. Still, Emmett Mosley V deserves credit for recovering the football to set up Manning’s game-tying touchdown pass to Jermaine Bishop Jr.

The fortunate sequence positioned the Longhorns to close out a quality opponent on the road. Unlike Texas’ wins over Tennessee and Ole Miss, which came down to the last play of the game, the Longhorns were in the victory formation on the last snap of a two-touchdown win over a club that was in the College Football Playoff discussion heading into the weekend.

***
Warren Roberson was picked on throughout the game. While watching the game at OTF Headquarters with Bobby Burton and Rod Babers, Rod reiterated what he mentioned during the second quarter of the “Watch With Us:” If you’re getting picked on as a defensive back, you need to make the opponent pay for it by making a play at some point.

Roberson stepped up when it mattered most.

With Missouri vying for a tying score, Roberson laid the wood to Cayden Lee on third-and-5 catch inside the final two minutes of regulation. Graceson Littleton snagged the loose ball, returning it to the 6-yard line (he should’ve finished off the run in the end zone for a touchdown, but Raleek Brown closed out the scoring three plays later, forcing the Tigers to burn their remaining timeouts in the process).

***
My only legitimate gripe regarding Saturday’s win is that I can’t believe Sarkisian when he describes the brand of football he wants Texas to play as one that strives to establish the run and play with a physical edge on the ground.

The Longhorns had success running the football on Saturday. Brown (85 yards rushing, 23-yard receiving and two touchdowns) had four carries for 36 yards by the 6:43 mark of the first quarter; he only had three combined carries in the second and third quarters.

Thankfully, Sarkisian went to Brown in crunch time, putting the ball in his hands five times on a six-play, 54-yard drive, which ended with a 23-yard touchdown catch (Sarkisian drew up a beautiful wheel route for Brown out of the backfield on a score that put Texas ahead for good, 27-20, with 5:03 to play).

***
Manning wasn’t perfect on Saturday, but he’s doing a better job of executing the formula Sarkisian has found that’s worked during the team’s current three-game winning streak. Although the Longhorns still had issues protecting Manning on attempted deep shots, the quick game got him into a rhythm and opened up the intermediate and deep throws he was able to connect on down the stretch.

***
Even when adjusting Missouri’s rushing yards to exclude sacks, Texas held the Tigers to 94 yards (4.1 yards per attempt). The 84 net yards (3.5 yards per carry) Missouri finished with are the second-fewest for the Tigers this season, with SEC rushing leader Jamal Roberts (66 yards, 3.5 yards per attempt) recording his third-worst outing of the season.

Only three of Missouri’s 23 non-sack rushing attempts went for 10 or more yards.

View full news story

I've got a little bit more to add.

Survive and advance. The Longhorns accomplished the job today.

Gritty win, Horns! 🤘🏽

3 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

I've got a little bit more to add.

Survive and advance. The Longhorns accomplished the job today.

Brown was rolling early. Makes no sense at all.

Proud of this team and they scored 30

arch is 44 -58 for 517 yards 6 touchdowns 0 interceptions last 2 games. just like last year he turning it up after slow start

Edited 4 minutes ago4 min by Thorn007

So if Texas wins out are they in the SEC championship game?

4 ranked wins is great. Only if we had those 2 unranked wins.