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Texas Football beats Mississippi State to make SEC debut
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Texas Football beats Mississippi State to make SEC debut

On Saturday, No. 2 Texas Football introduced itself to the SEC with a win.

Arch Manning threw for 324 yards and was responsible for three touchdowns to lead the Longhorns to a 35-13 win over Mississippi State at Royal-Memorial Stadium. That 22-point victory came in UT’s first-ever conference game since joining the league in July.

RELATED: Our employees take lessons from Texas’ victory over Mississippi State

Texas is not only 1-0 in SEC play, but now has a 5-0 overall record. The Longhorns still haven’t trailed this entire season. Texas last avoided trailing through the first five games of a season in 1961.

To open Saturday’s game, Texas stopped Mississippi State on a fourth-and-7 in UT territory. Manning then quickly drove the Longhorns down the field before Jaydon Blue’s 1-yard plunge set up the first touchdown of the afternoon.

Route on, right?

Much to the chagrin of everyone betting on Texas and a 38-point line, that assumption was incorrect. With 1:56 left in the first half, Mississippi State pulled away 7-6 after the UT offense stalled behind Blue’s lost fumble at the MSU 21 and Johntay Cook II’s drop of what was a 62-yard touchdown pass should have been.

Texas extended its lead to eight points at halftime when Manning, making his second straight start in place of the injured Quinn Ewers, delivered a can’t-miss highlight. With UT facing a third-and-9 at midfield, Manning faced pressure from the Mississippi State defense and fired a deep shot just before taking a huge hit from linebacker Stone Blanton. The pass sailed down the field where DeAndre Moore Jr. caught him on the foot and finished the 49-yard score.

After halftime, self-inflicted wounds — most notably another lost fumble by Blue and a confusing fourth-down call by head coach Steve Sarkisian — continued to hamper the offense. However, key sacks from Vernon Broughton and Colin Simmons prevented the Bulldogs from capitalizing.

Manning ended the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Texas then prevented Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2) from getting closer than 15 points in the final frame. Moore added a 27-yard touchdown catch with 9:30 left for his second score of the game, and Isaiah Bond later ran for a 26-yard score.

Texas is off next week. The next game on the schedule for the Longhorns is the team’s annual meeting with Oklahoma in Dallas on Oct. 12.