No. 11 Texas defense smothers Mississippi State 31-3 on Halloween night in Austin
Seven sacks, a 61-yard fumble return and three Arch Manning TD passes lift No. 11 Texas to 6-2 before a trip to No. 23 Missouri.
No. 11 Texas won a second straight game Saturday night, beating Mississippi State 31-3 in the first Halloween night game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The defense did most of the work. The Longhorns are now 6-2 and 3-2 in the SEC and still in the conference title race, according to the Associated Press recap carried by KVII.
The turning point came just before halftime. Linebacker Rasheem Biles sacked AJ Swann, who was making his first start of the season for the Bulldogs, and the ball came loose. Defensive tackle Maraad Watson, listed at 333 pounds, scooped it up and ran 61 yards for a touchdown that made it 17-0. The Austin American-Statesman counted seven Texas sacks. Biles had three of them and forced two fumbles, and Mississippi State finished with 188 total yards. Texas did that without edge rusher Colin Simmons, the national sacks leader, who missed his second straight game.
Arch Manning threw three touchdown passes. Sports Illustrated had him at 16 of 20 for 220 yards with no interceptions, and his one mistake was a lost fumble in the third quarter. Emmett Mosley V caught the last of the touchdown passes on a slot fade for the final margin. The offense still had problems. On3's Inside Texas noted that Mississippi State outgained Texas in the first half and that three of the Longhorns' first five drives were three-and-outs. Texas averaged 3.4 yards per carry. Raleek Brown ran for 157 yards against Ole Miss a week earlier but managed 30 on eight carries this time.
The biggest worry for Texas is Cam Coleman. He caught two passes for 61 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive and then left for the second game in a row. The AP reported he was in street clothes in the second half, and the team gave no immediate word on an injury. Mississippi State has a worse problem at quarterback. Starter Kamario Taylor is already out for the season. Swann completed 12 of 15 passes before he was hurt on the fumble and spent the second half with his right arm in a sling, so walk-on Parker Puckett finished the game. ESPN's full highlights show the defensive plays.
What it means for Texas at Missouri
The Bulldogs started 4-0, with wins over Missouri and South Carolina, and have now lost four straight. Over those four games they have been outscored 141-41. They host Vanderbilt next Saturday, and their quarterback situation is unsettled.
Texas goes to No. 23 Missouri on November 7 (ESPN). Since the losses to Oklahoma and Florida, both by 27-24, the Longhorns have beaten Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Away from Austin they have played once, a 20-17 win at Tennessee. Missouri's last loss on record here is the 31-24 defeat at Mississippi State in September, and the Tigers lost that one with Taylor still at quarterback.
Texas is favored on the board for the game. Novig lists the Longhorns at -178 on the moneyline. The best price on Texas at any of the six venues is DraftKings at -162. Novig has Missouri at +153. The spread numbers don't match across venues: DraftKings has Texas -3.5 and bet365 has Missouri +4.5. The total runs from 47.5 to 48.5. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline is between 4.0% and 6.4%. The line is likely to move once there's word on Coleman and Simmons.
