Steve Sarkisian was ‘ripping his ass’ but QB Arch Manning’s steady day lifted No. 1 Texas vs. Mississippi State

A four-play sequence summed up a rather frustrating afternoon for No. 1 Texas in its SEC opener against Mississippi State. There was sensational quarterback play, but it was sloppy everywhere else.

Quintrevion Wisner scored on a rather impressive 20-yard run. Nope. A holding call wiped that score off the board.

Two plays later, Matthew Golden made a nice 14-yard catch that pushed the ball down to the 6-yard line. Bring it back. Another holding call.

Finally, quarterback Arch Manning did it himself. Throwing over the top of everybody, Manning hit DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 27-yard touchdown. Whew. And this was the winning team.

Safe to say the Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 SEC) have plenty to talk about during the upcoming off week after this 35-13 victory at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Manning completed 26 of 31 passes for 324 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. If not for that, Texas might be having different conversations this coming week.

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“I’m happy we got some adversity,” defensive end Vernon Broughton said. “But at the same time, we bounced back. Hey, we got the job done.”

If you just looked at the final stats or saw the late-night highlights, you’d be asking what all the fuss is about. Yes, Texas had 522 total yards and allowed only its third touchdown of the entire season. But the full house of 101,388 fans and anybody who watched on SEC Network knows it wasn’t that easy. Not even close.

Texas lost the turnover battle (2-1), lost the time of possession (UT 25:03, MSU 34:57) had eight penalties for 65 yards. Just before halftime, Texas had minus-1 yard rushing.

Jaydon Blue got benched after losing two fumbles. Johntay Cook II dropped a sure-fire 62-yard touchdown throw. Michael Taaffe broke up a potential touchdown throw in the end zone. But the Texas defense had way too many missed tackles.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian even took a 49-yard field goal off the board — one that clanged through off the right upright. Mississippi State jumped offside. But the Horns botched the fourth-and-3 play and an low-percentage pass fell incomplete.

No doubt, this was quite a struggle from start to finish. But it was a win.

And there were positives. Running back Quintrevion Wiser came off the bench and ripped off 88 yards on 13 carries. Defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau had a team-high eight tackles, and freshman Colin Simmons had two sacks.

The final numbers show that Texas averaged 8.4 yards per play and pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

For all the chaos happening with penalties, missed tackles and general wackiness, Manning was the steady force. He threw a 49-yard touchdown bomb to DeAndre Moore Jr. and later found him again for the 27-yard score. Manning also scored on the ground from 1 yard out, but TV highlight shows will go wild showing his 26-yard, non-touchdown dash.

Manning took off like a bullet and headed to the southwest corner. Replays showed Manning appeared to hit the pylon just as his thigh touched the ground. Officials looked at it from multiple angles. Whether it was a score or not, it was a heck of an effort, to be sure. Officials spotted the ball at the 1-yard line, and Manning scored three plays later.

Manning practiced with the first-team offense all week with regular starter Quinn Ewers still getting over a strained abdominal injury. Ewers is expected to be ready for the Oklahoma game on Oct. 12.

Asked how Ewers and Manning are handling the situation, Sarkisian said, “Quinn’s a stud. He’s getting himself ready to go. I think Quinn’s probably helping Arch with me ripping his ass. Even though he’s 26 of 31 for over 300 yards, I was still ripping his ass today. But that’s what we do around here.”