STARKVILLE, Miss. — On Saturday, Texas football managed to salvage its season during a wild evening in the Magnolia State.
Texas kept alive in its quests for Southeastern Conference and national championships with a 45-38 win over Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium. The game was decided in overtime by backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V and UT edge rusher Ethan Burke’s fourth-down sack.
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In its victory, Texas rallied from two 17-point deficits in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s win also came one week after Texas edged Kentucky in overtime. This time around, Caldwell replaced an injured Arch Manning in overtime and found Mosley for a touchdown that was initially ruled incomplete but overturned by a video review.
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
Ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll, Texas (6-2, 3-1) will now turn its attention to a brutal November schedule that features games against No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Georgia, Arkansas and No. 3 Texas A&M. The Longhorns will host Vanderbilt (7-1, 3-1) next week.
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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
After whiffing on early opportunities, Texas completes late rally
Down 24-14 at halftime, Texas had chances to get back in the game but continued to trip over itself in the third quarter. To open the second half, Mason Shipley missed a 29-yard field goal. Texas was later gifted a first down at the Mississippi State 43 after a turnover on downs, but that possession was undone by a third-down sack of Manning.
More: See photos from Longhorns’ road game
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Thompson then hauled in a 4-yard touchdown catch with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. That left Texas in a nightmare it seemingly couldn’t wake up from, even as the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” was blasted at the stadium between the third and fourth quarters. But in the final frame, Manning threw touchdown passes to Livingstone and Emmett Mosley V before Shipley made a short kick. After a late defensive stop, Ryan Niblett scored on a 79-yard punt return to tie the game with 1:47 left.
That was Niblett’s second touchdown on special teams in UT’s last three games. Niblett also had a key return that led to a Texas touchdown during last week’s trip to Kentucky.
Texas receiver Deandre Moore Jr. (0) of the Texas Longhorns carries the ball near Mississippi State defensive back Jahron Manning during the first half Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
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Texas score early, but Mississippi State scores often in the first half
Over its first four games this season against Power Four defenses, Texas had not scored a single point in the first quarter. Heading into this week, that was a dubious distinction matched by just Washington and West Virginia among the 67 Power Four teams and Notre Dame. Those first-quarter woes – which featured seven punts and a per-play average of 3.4 yards – led Sarkisian this week to use the analogy of a Christmas tree at Grandma’s house that had a malfunctioning light or two.
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More: Yes, Steve Sarkisian just compared Texas’ offense to a Christmas tree
Well, Washington scored in the first quarter of its game against No. 23 Illinois on Saturday. And so did Texas.
Texas called for a quick pass to Ryan Wingo on its first offensive snap, and the sophomore receiver scooted 60 yards to Mississippi State’s 3-yard line. Manning then kept the ball on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Problem solved? Hardly. The Christmas lights as Grandma’s immediately started flickering again as Wingo’s catch accounted for 59.4% of UT’s offense during a first quarter that featured a touchdown pass by Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen, Ethan Burke’s blocked field goal for Texas and Jelani McDonald and Liona Lefau’s combined stuff of a run on a 4th-and-1 attempt inside the MSU 40.
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Texas turned that turnover on downs into a second-quarter touchdown pass by Manning, but Mississippi State scored 17 unanswered points and entered halftime with 281 yards of offense against a Texas team ranked 13th nationally in total defense at 279.1 yards per game. The last of the Bulldogs’ 24 points came on a 23-yard touchdown catch by senior receiver Brenen Thompson, who played at Texas during the 2022 season. Former Texas linebacker Derion Gullette also recorded five tackles and a drive-killing sack of Manning in the first half.
With season saved, Texas finally returns home
After spending the month of October, Texas will return home for the first time since a 55-0 win over Sam Houston on Sept. 20. Texas went 3-1 while surviving trips to Florida and Mississippi State and beating Oklahoma at a neutral site. Texas lost a 29-21 game at Florida on Oct. 4.
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Texas will spend most of the regular season’s last month at home. Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Texas A&M will be UT’s guests at Royal-Memorial Stadium, and the Longhorns will travel to Georgia on Nov. 15.
