Texas didn’t need the spotlight to land on its most obvious playmakers Saturday night. It needed someone dependable.
Someone who would keep the offense breathing while the Longhorns clawed back from a 20-point deficit against No. 1 Ohio State.
That role fell to junior receiver Mosley, and he answered it again and again.
Mosley finished with five catches for 65 yards in Texas’ 24-23 win, the kind of line that doesn’t scream for attention but absolutely matters in a comeback like this. He kept showing up in the middle of key drives, including a fourth-and-6 snap from the Texas 32-yard line with the Longhorns down 23-10 and staring at a potentially fatal stop.
Steve Sarkisian called a concept built to give Manning a chance to find Mosley, and Manning delivered. He hit Mosley in a soft spot in Ohio State’s coverage for a first down, keeping the drive alive and the comeback moving.
It was the sort of play that can get lost once the game ends. It won’t show up as the headline moment for most people. But without it, the comeback likely never gets off the ground.
Texas went on to finish that drive with a touchdown.
Mosley had already chipped in earlier in the rally, too. He caught a 13-yard pass on the possession that eventually led to Texas’ first touchdown of the fourth quarter. On that play, he also fumbled at the Ohio State 12-yard line, but Cam Coleman recovered and the Longhorns kept the drive going.
That sequence fit the feel of the entire night: messy, tense, and still somehow under control just enough for Texas to keep pushing.
Manning will get plenty of credit for the comeback, and Hollywood Smothers should, too, after scoring both of Texas’ final two touchdowns. But this game was built on a lot more than that.
Ryan Wingo had to make plays. Emaree Winston had to contribute.
The offensive line had to settle in and give Manning time. The defense had to completely shut down Ohio State in the fourth quarter.
Mosley’s job wasn’t to carry the offense. It was to be reliable when the ball came his way.
Against a 23-3 deficit, that mattered plenty.
And that’s what makes his performance so important for Texas. The Longhorns already have stars who can draw every bit of defensive attention. What championship-caliber teams also need are the players who punish opponents when that attention shifts elsewhere.
Against Ohio State, Mosley looked like exactly that kind of player.
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