It took one of the most memorable comebacks in school history, but No. 22 Texas football kept its thin College Football Playoff hopes alive Saturday with a wild 45-38 overtime at Mississippi State.
The Longhorns (6-2, 3-1 SEC) had to play without injured All-American safety Michael Taaffe as well as veteran offensive guard DJ Campbell, who left the game early with a right-leg injury. But despite those absences, Texas rallied from a 38-14 deficit entering the fourth quarter to pull off the unlikely win over hard-luck Mississippi State (4-4, 0-4).
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Arch Manning threw for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-46 passing before leaving late in overtime to undergo concussion protocols. Backup Matthew Caldwell came in and threw a touchdown to Emmett Mosley IV, and defensive end Ethan Burke ended the game with a fourth-down strip sack of Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen.
MORE: Longhorns complete comeback in overtime win over Mississippi State
Read below for a replay and highlights as the Texas Longhorns beat Mississippi State Bulldogs 45-28 in overtime.
Kelley Jones #1 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs intercepts a pass during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Davis Wade Stadium on Oct. 25 in Starkville, Mississippi.
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Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) carries the ball during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
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The Texas defense ends the game with a strip sack by Ethan Burke of Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen, and the Longhorns pull off one of the most memorable comebacks in school history.
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High drama in Starkville. Arch Manning has to leave the game with what looks like a concussion check, and backup Matthew Caldwell comes in and throws a 10-yard touchdown on a fade route. Replay rules it good after overturning the on-field call.
A game of chicken on that final drive. Neither coach used a timeout until pressure from Anthony Hill Jr. forced a third-down sack of Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen at midfield, and the Bulldogs punt away. Texas kneels out the final play of regulation deep in its own territory, and the Longhorns are set for their second consecutive overtime game.
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Punt returner Ryan Niblett does it again for Texas. Ethan Burke leads a stand on third-and-1 for Mississippi State at its own 22-yard line, and Niblett returns the following punt 79 yards for a touchdown. He returned a punt for a score against Oklahoma, and he set up a score against Kentucky with another long return. The Longhorns have stunned Starkville with 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, left, talks to an official during the first half Oct. 25, 2025 against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
James Pugh/Associated Press
Arch Manning is cooking now for Texas. After the Longhorns force a 3-and-out, Manning leads the Longhorns down the field and keeps the Longhorns’ hopes for a rally alive. Now, Texas needs one more stop after it has to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Mason Shipley. Ryan Wingo has enjoyed a career game but he dropped what would have been a touchdown on a third-down slant. Manning has thrown for a career-high 346 yards.
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Arch Manning and the Texas passing game keep swinging. The QB connects with Emmett Mosley V for a 21-yard touchdown, and Manning now has 299 yards and three touchdowns passing. But Texas has allowed its most points since giving up 41 in a loss to Oklahoma State Oct. 22, 2022.
This Texas defense just cannot get a stop. QB Blake Shapen shovels a pass to Davon Booth on a broken play on third down, and the RB scoots 62 yards for a touchdown. The Longhorns have allowed 451 yards of offense.
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Where would Texas be without Ryan Wingo? The receiver hauls in a downfield strike from Arch Manning for a 62-yard gain, which sets up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Parker Livingstone. Wingo has 169 yards on four catches, and Texas keeps its slim hopes alive. The Longhorns are 1-13 under Steve Sarkisian when trailing entering the fourth quarter. Can they double that win total?
Alabama is losing at South Carolina, Vanderbilt keeps winning, and Texas is getting pounded by a team that hasn’t won a conference game in two years. Parity has arrived down South, much to the chagrin of Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and his squad. Mississippi State has 376 yards of offense compared to 216 for Texas.
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An 80-yard touchdown drive by Mississippi State may have just sealed the Bulldogs’ first SEC win in two years. QB Blake Shapen caps the drive with a third-down, 4-yard TD pass to Brenen Thompson. That’s the second score for the former Longhorn, and Texas is in the midst of what would be the worst conference loss since joining the SEC last season.
4:09 3Q: Mississippi State 24, Texas 14
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby goes for it on fourth-and-2 from its own 47-yard line, but the Horns sniff it out. No matter. QB Arch Manning gets sacked for the fourth time, and the Longhorns must punt away.
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The Texas offense just can’t find any consistency. Ryan Wingo has 107 yards on three catches. The rest of the Longhorns have 95 yards on 45 plays. The Bulldogs get the ball back, and a weary Texas defense returns to the field.
Texas wide receiver Ryan Wingo, right, is tackled by Mississippi State linebacker Branden Jennings, bottom left, during the first half Oct. 25, 2025 in Starkville, Miss.
James Pugh/Associated Press
Ryan Wingo likes these half-opening drive. Like he did on the Longhorns’ opening possession, the Texas receiver turns a short pass from Arch Manning into a big gain. This one goes 47 yards and sets up a 29-yard field goal try by Mason Shipley, but the transfer kicker from Texas State misses his first try of the year under 55 yards.
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Last week, the Texas defense had to play an official 86 snaps in an overtime win over Kentucky, which remains winless in SEC play. Things are only getting worse against fellow SEC cellar-dweller Mississippi State, which has run 49 plays while rolling up 281 yards of offense. To put the Bulldogs’ offensive production in context, Texas entered this game allowing only 279 yards of offense per contest.
The Texas offense have to control the clock so the Bulldog tempo can’t dictate the game. The Longhorns will need to get a running game going despite an injury to guard DJ Campbell; Texas has just 26 yards rushing on 12 carries from its running backs.
Texas can’t generate a late scoring drive as the Bulldog pressure keeps getting home. The Longhorns will have to figure out how to protect Manning and how to slow a Mississippi State offense that has 281 yards of offense.
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And it turns out Mississippi State doesn’t need that much time. Brenen Thompson, the former Longhorn with unmatched speed, gets a step on Malik Muhammad and beats the cornerback for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Muhammad doesn’t get beat often, but that’s a great release by Thompson.
Mississippi State’s pressure packages are chewing up the Texas offensive line. Arch Manning gets sacked for the second time, which allows the Bulldogs to get the ball back one more time in the first half.
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A big tackle for the big German, Hero Kanu. His tackle for a loss inside the 10-yard line helps hold the Bulldogs to a 24-yard field goal by Kyle Ferrie.
Arch Manning goes deep, a wobbly pass goes off the hands of a leaping Livingstone, and extra-large cornerback Kelly Jones gets the interception and returns it to the Texas 40-yard line. That’s the first turnover for Manning in three games.
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Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone (13) attempts to catch a pass against Mississippi State defensive back Kelley Jones during the first half Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
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This game is suddenly developing into a shootout in Starkville. The Bulldogs, who have 175 yards of offense, march down the field and get into the end zone on a fourth-down, 1-yard pass from freshman Kamario Taylor to Seydou Traore that safety Derek Williams Jr. almost knocked down. Think the Longhorns miss injured safety Michael Taaffe? They allowed three TD passes through the first seven games. Mississippi State has two TD passes today.
Mason Shipley hits a 25-yard field goal for Texas, but an illegal block by Mississippi State – a tackle dove at a lineman’s legs – gives Texas a first down. Three plays later, Arch Manning rolls right and tosses a 1-yard touchdown pass to Parker Livingstone.
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Arch Manning stands in the pocket, takes a hit and delivers a 14-yard pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. on third-and-8. The Longhorns are set up at the Mississippi State 11-yard line to start the second quarter.
Texas safety Jelani McDonald with two big tackles, including one on fourth-and-1 from the Mississippi State 37-yard line. McDonald has to play a bigger role this game with Michael Taaffe out, and he delivered on that series.
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Senior right guard DJ Campbell, the lone returning starting offensive lineman for Texas from last season, hurt his right leg after getting rolled up in pass protection. That’s an injury that Texas cannot afford considering its issues at the position. Connor Stroh replaces Campbell, but the Horns go 3-and-out for the third time today after Ryan Wingo drops a pass on third-and-19.
Mississippi State decides to go with some tempo, and it pays off as the Bulldogs march 53 yards in six plays. State QB Blake Shapen went 3-for-3 for 43 yards on the drive, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sam West. Getting lined up quickly could prove tricky for the Texas secondary all game, considering the absence of all-American safety and master communicator Michael Taaffe.
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Derion Gullette, the former Texas Longhorn, blitzes in and sacks Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Take away that 60-yard play by Texas receiver Ryan Wingo, and UT has just 2 yards on its first three drives.
Texas finally gets an elusive blocked kick for the first time this season. Big Ethan Burke, the 6-foot-6 senior edge, knocks down a 47-yard attempt by Kyle Ferrie. On its first three drives, Mississippi State has just 30 yards.
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How’s that for a start for Texas? After the Longhorns’ defense gets a 3-and-out, quarterback Arch Manning throws the ball in the flat to Ryan Wingo, who races 60 yards to the Mississippi State 3-yard line. One play later, Manning bulls in for a 3-yard touchdown run. He gets up slowly, but early damage by Texas.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning passes the ball during the first half against Mississippi State on Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
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Texas running back CJ Baxter has been removed from the injury report and will play for the first time since he injured a hamstring on the Longhorns’ first play from scrimmage in Week 3 against UTEP. Mississippi State running back Fluff Bothwell, the team’s leading rusher, will not play for the second consecutive game.
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It’s been an eventful day for Texas football even before kickoff. After a report surfaced this morning about head coach Steve Sarkisian expressing interest in a NFL head coaching job, Sarkisian’s representatives at Creative Artists Agency denied the report in a social media post Saturday afternoon.
“Any reports regarding communications on coaching opportunities with NFL teams are patently false and wildly inaccurate. Sark is solely focused on coaching the University of Texas football team,” agents Jimmy Sexton and Ed Marynowitz posted on the Creative Artists Agency social media feeds.
When: 3:15 p.m. Saturday
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Where: Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
TV/radio: ESPN, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 7 points; over/under is 44 ½ points
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Cloudy with temperatures in the 70s, and scattered showers are expected in the second half.
- Week 1 at Ohio State: L, 10-7
- Week 2 vs San Jose State: W, 38-7
- Week 3 at UTEP: W, 27-10
- Week 4 vs Sam Houston: W, 55-0
- Week 5 BYE
- Week 6 at Florida: L, 29-21
- Week 7 vs Oklahoma: W, 23-6
- Week 8: at Kentucky: W, 16-13
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Reach Texas beat reporter Thomas Jones via email at tjones@statesman.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
