Texas survives upset scare against Mississippi State, completes Longhorns' largest comeback win since 2007

No. 22 Texas battled back from a 17-point deficit and scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to eke out a 45-38 overtime win on the road against Mississippi State. Saturday's result represents the Longhorns' largest comeback win since they erased a 21-point deficit in 2007 against Oklahoma State. 

This is also just the second time in program history that Texas has won multiple overtime games in a season. The Longhorns survived a similar scare against Kentucky in Week 8. 

Texas trailed 38-21 with 10 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter after Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen connected with running back Davon Booth for a 62-yard touchdown. That's when the Longhorns took over. 

They answered with a quick nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 21-yard scoring connection between quarterback Arch Manning and wide receiver Emmett Mosley V. The defense forced a quick three-and-out and then the offense again moved the ball with some ease, allowing kicker Mason Shipley to hit on a 26-yard field goal that cut Mississippi State's lead to 38-31. 

Instead of taking time off the clock, Mississippi State again went three-and-out. The Bulldogs then made the poor decision to punt the ball to Texas' Ryan Niblett, who made them pay taking the boot 79 yards for the game-tying touchdown with 1:47 left on the clock. 

Niblett was also Texas' hero against Kentucky, as he returned two punts for a total of 88 yards that allowed the Longhorns to score some key points. He also returned a punt for a touchdown in a win over Oklahoma two weeks earlier.

Mississippi State got painfully close to field goal range at the end of regulation. Shapen fumbled a would-be pass attempt on third-and-6, though, which forced the Bulldogs to punt with less than 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. 

Texas faced further adversity in overtime when Manning exited the game after his head bounced off of the turf. He was slow to get up and went straight to the medical tent with the help of Texas' team trainers. 

That just meant it was backup Matthew Caldwell's opportunity to play hero. On his second snap from scrimmage, Caldwell lofted a beautiful pass to Mosley, who made an equally impressive snag to get one foot down in the end zone and hand the Longhorns a touchdown on the first possession of the extra period. 

From there, Texas' defense locked the game down. Mississippi State was eventually forced into a fourth-and-20 after a pair of procedural penalties and Shapen was sacked for a loss of 32 yards by Ethan Burke to end a desperation conversion attempt. 

Though he got knocked out of the game late, Manning played the best game of his career to preserve Texas' season. He completed 29 passes for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown. 

With the win, Texas advanced to 6-2 on the season with a 3-1 record in SEC play. The Longhorns face another huge test next week as No. 10 Vanderbilt, which beat No. 15 Missouri in Week 9, comes to town.