Texas finally got the kind of night it had been chasing all month: no late drama, no frantic finish, just a straight-up 31-3 win over Mississippi State on Halloween night in Austin.
No. 11 Texas came out of a rocky October with a convincing performance Saturday, stretching its winning streak to two and keeping itself in the College Football Playoff conversation headed into November.
Quinn Ewers was steady from start to finish, and that was exactly what Texas needed. Outside of a third-quarter fumble, he kept the offense on track and avoided the kind of mistakes that could have opened the door for Mississippi State.
He finished 16 of 20 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 13 carries for 10 yards. He also absorbed a few big hits and briefly left for a play after his helmet came off.
The passing game found its best rhythm through Emmett Mosley V, who turned in his strongest outing of the season with four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Cam Coleman also flashed early before leaving with an injury in the first half and not returning. He ended the night with two catches for 61 yards and a score.
After last week’s big win over Ole Miss, there was no hangover from Ewers. He looked composed, accurate and in control, never forcing the issue when Texas already had the game in hand. That mattered, because any costly deep-ball gamble could have given Mississippi State a spark it never really earned.
Defensively, Texas never allowed the Bulldogs to get comfortable, and this time there was no repeat of the Florida game, when a backup quarterback helped create problems. The gap between Kamario Taylor and his backups is much larger than the one between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. at Florida, but Texas still handled the situation the right way and took over instead of letting things drift.
The play that really broke the game open came just before halftime, when Maraad Watson scooped up a fumble and took it 61 yards for a touchdown to push Texas ahead 17-0 at the break. Rasheem Biles may have been the biggest defensive force of the night, though. He posted a career-high three sacks and added two forced fumbles, continuing to make a strong case that he’s likely the second-best player on the roster.
Texas finished with seven sacks after getting none against Ole Miss, a sharp turnaround for a defense that dictated the game from the opening stretch.
There was still one familiar Texas moment to start the third quarter: a Manning fumble that gave Mississippi State the ball deep in Longhorn territory. The defense held the Bulldogs to a field goal, but it looked for a moment like the kind of swing that has haunted Texas in third quarters all season.
Instead, the Longhorns finally showed some life in that frame. Manning hit Raleek Brown for a touchdown pass, giving Texas its first third-quarter touchdown since the opener against Texas State. That’s a long gap for a team that has spent much of the season fighting its own third-quarter problems.
If the passing game and defense were the bright spots, the run game was the clear disappointment. That was a surprise after Texas piled up 207 rushing yards against Ole Miss, especially against a Mississippi State defense that has allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game this season.
Raleek Brown managed just eight carries for 30 yards, while Michael Terry III had four carries for 16 yards. As a team, Texas ran it 32 times for only 60 yards, an ugly 1.9 yards per carry.
Still, the Longhorns have shown what they can look like when things click. The challenge now is doing it consistently.
One more thing to watch: the health of Hollywood Smothers, who appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in the second half.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Landed In The Arch Manning Rumor Storm
Arch Mannings name is back in the rumor cycle, and this time the speculation is stretching well beyond the usual offseason chatter. Reports around the Texas quarterback have picked up after former ESPN analyst David Pollack said an SEC coach suggested Manning could move on from Texas after the 2026 season, with Georgia mentioned as a possible destination. Other reporting has also connected Manning to Ole Miss, adding another layer to a conversation that has quickly spread across the SEC.
For Texas, the bigger point is not the destination being floated but the fact that Mannings future is suddenly being discussed at all. He has not commented publicly on the rumors and remains committed to the Longhorns for now, but the noise around him is only going to grow as long as outside voices keep attaching his name to other programs. In a sport where quarterback movement can reshape everything, even a stray rumor about a player like Manning is enough to keep people watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Coleman Gave Texas A Spark Then Left Fans Worried
Cam Coleman gave Texas exactly the kind of early burst it needed against Mississippi State, turning two catches into 61 yards and a touchdown before the first half had even settled in. After being listed on the injury report earlier in the week with a shoulder issue from the previous game, he was cleared to play and looked ready to make an immediate impact.
Then came the part that had Longhorns fans watching closely. Coleman was seen heading to the locker room in the second quarter without any obvious injury moment on the field, leaving a jolt of concern after such a promising start and raising fresh questions about his status for the rest of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Defense Suddenly Has A New Mississippi State Problem
Mississippi State is making another quarterback change before facing Texas, with AJ Swann set to start in place of injured starter Kamario Taylor and backup Parker Puckett. For the Longhorns, it adds a fresh layer to a matchup already shaped by uncertainty, because Swann arrives with prior college experience but without any game action yet for Mississippi State.
Texas spent part of the week preparing for one look and now has to account for another, since Swann is expected to bring a different style than Taylor. That kind of late adjustment can matter on defense, especially when a unit has to sort out tendencies on the fly and decide where the real pressure points are going to be. [Read more 🡒]