No. 19 Texas blows 21-point halftime lead but still does enough to beat No. 7 Ole Miss

No. 19 Texas coughed up a 21-point lead but did enough in the fourth quarter to take down No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27.

The Longhorns led 24-3 at halftime and proceeded to give up 21 straight points as Ole Miss tied the game. Arch Manning's short touchdown run with 8:04 to go put the Longhorns ahead for good before a curious tactical decision hurt Ole Miss' chances of winning the game.

But the Rebels still somehow had a shot to at least tie the game in the final minutes.

After kicking a field goal to cut Texas' lead to seven inside the final two minutes, the Rebels needed to recover an onside kick. And they did after the kick bounced off multiple players.

But without any timeouts, Ole Miss ran out of time. The Rebels got to the Texas 24-yard line, but Trinidad Chambliss' last-gasp pass was intercepted in the end zone.

After Manning gave Texas a 31-24 lead, Ole Miss started with the ball on its own 47-yard line after a late hit penalty on the ensuing kickoff return. The Rebels gained just 12 yards and faced fourth-and-10 from the Texas 41-yard line while trailing by seven.

A field goal would simply cut Texas' lead to four with just over six minutes to go. The Rebels would still need to find the end zone or kick two more field goals to take the lead. And yet, Ole Miss coach Pete Golding sent out Lucas Carneiro for a 58-yard field goal attempt.

The play clock was winding down as the strong-legged Carneiro lined up for the kick. Instead of taking a delay of game and punting — a defensible decision given the game context — Golding called his first timeout. He then kept Carneiro on the field to try to cut the lead to four.

Texas then drained nearly four minutes off the clock before Gianni Spetic's short field goal made it a two-possession lead that Ole Miss ultimately couldn't overcome.

Another uneven performance for the Texas offense

Texas is still looking to put a complete game together.

The Longhorns looked like the preseason top-five team they were billed as in the first half as they scored three straight touchdowns to build that 24-3 lead. The Longhorns were dominant in the second quarter, as Manning found Ryan Wingo for a 50-yard TD after he ran for his first score.

But Manning also turned the ball over three times. With starting left tackle Trevor Goosby carted off in the first half and unavailable, Manning fumbled on the first drive of the third quarter after instant pressure off the left side. That fumble was recovered by Kam Franklin in the end zone for an Ole Miss touchdown.

Texas then punted three straight times as Ole Miss tied the game and Manning threw his second pick of the game on a horrible decision into triple coverage early in the fourth quarter.

It was a play that could have been costly. Instead, the Texas defense quickly forced a punt, and the Longhorns drove 80 yards in six plays for Manning's go-ahead touchdown.

That drive was powered by running back Raleek Brown, who shouldered much of the rushing workload with Hollywood Smothers sidelined by a shoulder injury. Brown finished the game with 23 carries for 157 yards.

There are still five weeks of the regular season to go. But if the season ended today, Georgia would face Kentucky in the SEC championship game.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats are the only two teams in the SEC with just one conference loss through Week 8. Thanks to Texas' win, eight teams currently have two league losses, while another four have three losses.

Georgia and Kentucky don't play each other in 2026, though both have three ranked teams still remaining on their conference schedules. We're confident in saying that one or both of the league's title game participants is going to have two conference losses.

We have no idea who those teams will be, however. Though one thing is for certain: tiebreakers are going to be in play.