AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 1 Texas State earned its first win in the Southeastern Conference on Saturday with an outstanding performance from its defense. They beat Mississippi State 35-13 on Saturday.
Manning completed 26 of 31 passes for 324 yards in his second consecutive start, replacing Quinn Ewers, who is still recovering from an abdominal strain.
Texas joined the SEC from the Big 12 this season and had a rough, ragged, and ultimately effective debut.
Manning completed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Deondre Moore in the second quarter, followed by a 1-yard TD run in the third, starting a much closer game than expected against the Bulldogs, who had lost four straight.
Manning set up his own touchdown on a 26-yard scramble near the goal line, and the touchdown made it 21-6 on the final play of the third quarter.
Moore scored another run early in the fourth, essentially ending the game for the Longhorns (5-0, 1-0).
Texas cruised through the first four games, rushing for its first touchdown in five plays. But the Longhorns quickly became mired in turnovers, dropped touchdown passes and partially blocked punts.
Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2) outscored Texas in total yards and closed to within 7-6 on two Kyle Ferry field goals late in the first half, but Manning countered the blitz and Moore gave the perfect blow. right before he gets hit.
The Longhorns' defense didn't allow a touchdown until Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren's 12-yard run with just under seven minutes left. The score ended a nine-quarter streak without allowing a touchdown.
Van Buren started in place of Blake Shappen, who lost the season with a shoulder injury a week ago. He finished with 144 passing yards and a TD run.
Take-out
Mississippi: The run-first game plan with Van Buren did everything it could to keep the high-powered Texas offense off the field.
It worked until Manning's late TD strike in the second quarter.
Van Buren appeared to be coping well in his first career road start against the No. 1 team in front of about 101,000 opposing fans.
Texas: The Longhorns struggled to complete three-quarters of the game against one of the nation's worst rushing defenses, gaining 75 yards and receiving nine penalties.
Starting tailback Jadon Blue ended two Texas drives with fumbles.
There's a lot of work to do before the next two games against No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 2 Georgia, which will be a big factor in whether the Longhorns contend for the SEC Championship.
to the next
Mississippi State has next week off and will play No. 2 Georgia State on October 12th.
Texas has next week off and will play No. 21 Oklahoma on Oct. 12 in Dallas.
