Texas rallies past Missouri 34-20 as Manning throws three TDs

Arch Manning threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Raleek Brown with just over five minutes left, and Texas rallied to beat Missouri 34-20 in Columbia, the AP reported via ESPN.

Brown added 85 yards and a clinching touchdown on the ground for the Longhorns, who improved to 7-2 and 4-2 in the SEC. Missouri fell to 6-3 and 3-3, likely ending the Tigers’ College Football Playoff chances.

The game turned on a call that will be debated all week. Texas was trailing 20-13 in the third quarter when Manning threw incomplete on third-and-10 at the Missouri 39. Officials ruled the pass a fumble recovered by Texas for a first down. Replays appeared to show a forward pass. Referee David Smith upheld the call. Three plays later, Manning hit Jermaine Bishop Jr. from 25 yards out to tie the game.

“I don’t get explanations. I get the same thing you all do,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “They review it and say it’s upheld or it’s not.”

What the coverage missed

Five video reviews. All five went against Missouri. That is not a pattern anyone can prove, but it is a pattern Drinkwitz and his staff will remember. The fumble ruling is the one that matters. A ball thrown 14 yards forward was called a fumble. The replay official looked at it and kept the call on the field. Texas scored on the drive. If the call is reversed, Missouri gets the ball at the 39 leading by seven in the third quarter.

Manning was good. He was also the beneficiary of a defense that forced consecutive punts after the tying touchdown, and a running back who broke loose at the right moment. Brown’s go-ahead catch came out of the backfield against linebacker Dante McClellan, and he ran right past him. That is a schematic win, not a quarterback win.

Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Naeshaun Montgomery. Running back Jamal Roberts, the SEC’s leading rusher, was held to 66 yards. When your best player averages 3.5 yards per carry, you lose.

Texas has now beaten four top-20 opponents this season. That is the number the playoff committee will look at. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma and Florida by a field goal each. They are 7-2 with a strong resume and a quarterback named Manning. They will be in the conversation.

What I think

Drinkwitz said it did not come down to officials or reviews. He is wrong, and he knows it. He is also being diplomatic because the SEC fines coaches who criticize officiating. The fumble call was wrong. Everyone watching saw it was a pass. The replay system exists to fix exactly that kind of mistake, and it did not.

That said, Missouri had their chances after the call. They were tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter with the ball and a chance to drive. They punted. Then they got it back and threw an interception. Texas made the plays. Missouri did not. That is the part Drinkwitz is right about.

Texas is a playoff team. The committee may not put them in the top 12 this week, but they should. Four wins over ranked opponents, two close losses, and a quarterback who is getting better every week. Steve Sarkisian said “we’re big-game hunters” and he has the resume to back it up.

Manning is not his uncle. He is a good college quarterback who makes the throws the system asks him to make. That is enough on a team with this defense and this running game. The name gets the attention. The team wins the games.