Backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell hit Emmett Mosley V with a 10-yard TD pass in overtime as No. 22 Texas roared back from 17 points down to beat Mississippi State 45-38 on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference shootout in Starkville, Miss.
Texas (6-2, 3-1 SEC) scored the game’s final 24 points over the last 9:34 of regulation and overtime and posted the victory with starting quarterback Arch Manning in the medical tent. The Longhorns have won their past two games on the road in heart-stopping fashion, both in overtime.
Manning passed for a career-high 346 yards and three TDs. Ryan Wingo caught five of those passes for a career-best 184 yards.
The loss was the 16th straight in conference play for the Bulldogs (4-4, 0-4 SEC). Blake Shapen passed for a career-high 381 yards and four touchdowns in defeat, with two of those scores going to Brenen Thompson.
Texas trailed by 17 points early in the fourth quarter when Manning found Mosley for a 21-yard TD pass to make it 38-28. Manning then engineered a 12-play, 53-yard march that ended with a Mason Shipley 26-yard field goal with 4:14 left to draw the Longhorns to within seven points.
Mississippi State was forced to punt on its ensuing possession and Ryan Niblett took advantage, breaking three tackles while going 79 yards on the return for a touchdown that, after the PAT, tied the game at 38-38 with 1:47 remaining.
Manning was knocked out of the game on Texas’ second play of overtime, forcing Caldwell to enter the fray. On his first pass of the game, Caldwell lobbed a pass to Mobley for the go-ahead score.
Mississippi State ran out of magic on its possession in overtime, as Shapen threw three incompletions before being sacked.
The teams traded TDs before the Bulldogs went in front 17-14 on a Kyle Ferrie 24-yard field goal. Shapen added to the lead with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Thompson with 38 seconds left in the half that pushed Mississippi State’s lead to 24-14.
The Bulldogs stoked their advantage to 31-14 when Shapen found Thompson for a score from four yards out with 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Texas cut its deficit to 10 points on a six-yard TD pass from Manning to Parker Livingstone with 13:15 to play. But the Bulldogs immediately countered with a 62-yard shovel pass from Shapen to Davon Booth that set the stage for the furious finish.
