Texas football beats Mississippi State while making its SEC debut

Arch Manning threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Longhorns to a 35-13 victory over Mississippi State at Royal-Memorial Stadium. This 22-point win came in UT’s first conference contest since joining the league in July.

RELATED: Our staff’s takeaways from Texas’ victory over Mississippi State

In addition to being 1-0 in SEC play, Texas now has an overall record of 5-0. The Longhorns haven’t trailed all season. The last time Texas avoided a deficit in the first five games of a season was in 1961.

To open Saturday’s game, Texas stopped Mississippi State on a fourth-and-7 in UT territory. Manning then quickly drove the Longhorns down the field before Jaydon Blue’s 1-yard plunge scored the first touchdown of the afternoon.

Router on, right?

Much to the chagrin of everyone who bet on Texas and a 38-point line, that assumption was wrong. With 1:56 left in the first half, Mississippi State pulled ahead 7-6 after the UT offense stalled behind Blue’s lost fumble at the MSU 21 and Johntay Cook II’s drop of a 62-yard touchdown pass.