The No. 7 Rebels suffered a heartbreaking loss in their road test against the No. 19 Longhorns, falling short 27-34. The matchup was marked by an extremely rocky start and a blowout lead for the Longhorns in the first half, and a second half in which the Rebels were unable to close the gap. .
First half
The Rebels received the kickoff but were unable to do much with their first possession. As 100,000 Longhorn fans roared, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss handed the ball off to running back Kewan Lacy but saw no gain on the first play. Chambliss added two incomplete passes before the Rebels were forced to punt the ball.
On the Longhorns’ first possession and with Arch Manning at quarterback, Texas marched down the field. Manning completed passes to wide receivers Cam Coleman for 12 yards and Emmett Mosley V for 23 yards.
Despite their progress, the Longhorns were forced to settle for a field goal thanks to the duo of linebacker Keaton Thomas, who sent Manning on the run, and edge rusher Suntarine Perkins who broke up a shot in the end zone.
After a shaky first possession, receiver Deuce Alexander had a big catch and ran for 36 yards to send the Rebels into Texas territory. Ole Miss could not get a touchdown and instead settled for an easy 46-yard field goal from kicker Lucas Carneiro to tie the score at three.
Chaos followed on the next possessions. Rebel cornerback Jalyn Crawford picked off Manning. Immediately on the next play, Justin Cryer for the Longhorns intercepted Chambliss.
With both fanbases stunned, Manning took a shot downfield to Coleman, but he bobbled the ball and was unable to secure the wide open catch.
Rebel edge rusher Blake Purchase batted Manning’s next pass down at the line, and the Longhorns punted the ball away. The Rebels punted right back after their failed drive of only three yards.
Texas then had two big plays, a 43-yard reception by wide receiver Ryan Wingo and a 23-yard rush by running back Raleek Brown.
Perkins had a big hit on Brown that saved the touchdown for a play, but Manning delivered the score himself with a 2-yard rush. With under a minute to play in the first quarter, the Longhorns led 10-3.
The Rebels opened the drive with a few short plays from Lacy and Alexander, beginning the second quarter with an incomplete pass that was nearly intercepted, as well as an uncatchable throw in the turf that the referees ruled intentional grounding.
Chambliss finished with a deep ball into no-man’s land, and Oscar Bird punted the ball away again.
Throughout the week that led up to the game, Manning was criticized by many as “unable to live up to the hype.” However, in Texas’ first possession of the second quarter, Manning made a couple big plays to silence the Rebel crowd.
On second-and-11, Manning kept the ball and ran 19 yards for a first down. It was clear that Manning was feeling himself, and after his first down point celebration, Manning launched a deep ball to Wingo for a 50-yard touchdown.
Yet again, the Rebel offense was unable to get on the same page. Chambliss threw the ball away multiple times, and Lacy’s rush attempts were unproductive.
On the Longhorns’ next drive, there was not much action and almost the entirety of Texas’ yards were gained thanks to penalties.
Rebel linebacker Tah’j Butler hit Manning and the Longhorns gained 15 yards from a roughing the passer call. Thomas was called for a face mask and gave away 15 more free yards. Finally, safety Sharif Denson was called for pass interference in the end zone, setting up Texas with first-and-goal.
Without much work, Texas was on the Rebels’ 2-yard line, and Longhorn running back Michael Terry III broke into the end zone and gave the Longhorns a 24-3 lead.
The ensuing Rebel possession was similar to the previous one: a few short rushes with no first down and a Bird punt. Texas similarly was unable to do anything and punted right back.
With the Rebels still down 21 points and four minutes left in the half, it looked like the drive was about to stall out yet again, but when Bird came out to punt, he faked it and ran 17 yards to give the Rebels a fresh set of downs.
With a bit of life, running back Makhi Fraizer escaped the tackle and sprinted off for a 34-yard gain to the Longhorns’ 27-yard line. In addition, the Rebels caught a break on penalties a couple plays later and gained 10 yards for Texas unnecessary roughness.
The Rebels continued to push downfield and stopped at the 4-yard line. Chambliss went for the touchdown pass on fourth down but threw an interception. That was the first time all season Ole Miss had not scored when in the red zone. Texas ran out the clock and ended the half up 24-3.
Second half
The Rebels opened the half with a bit of fortune. Texas received the kickoff, and deep in their own territory, Purchase hit Manning, causing him to fumble the ball. Defensive end Kam Franklin recovered the fumble, and although he dropped it a few times, he fell on the ball in the end zone to cut the Longhorn lead to 14.
The Longhorn offense did not look much better on their next possession and gave the ball back to the Rebels after just one first down.
Six plays into the Rebels’ drive, Lacy went down with another shoulder injury. Lacy has suffered an injury in nearly every game this season, ranging from the shoulder to lower body. Despite losing him, the Rebels progressed downfield with the help of 15 yards from a roughing-the-passer call and an end zone pass interference flag.
With good field position, Chambliss completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Horatio Fields, and the momentum began to shift in the Rebels’ favor.
The Longhorns were rattled, and Manning took a sack for an eight-yard loss, causing him to briefly leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion. With backup quarterback Karle Lacey Jr. in, the Rebel defense got a stop and the ball back. Unable to get a first down, the Rebels gave the ball right back.
Manning came back in for Texas’ next sequence, and he threw a few short passes and punted to the Rebels with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Chambliss and Alexander moved the ball downfield with an 11-yard reception and a pass interference call, but it was Fields’ 27-yard touchdown reception that tied the game 24-24.
On 2nd and 10, Manning took a shot downfield into heavy Rebel coverage, and the pass was intercepted by Jalyn Crawford. The pick gave the Rebels the ball on their own 20-yard line and about 13 minutes to play.
The Rebels handed the ball back to Texas, and Brown broke free on the rush for a 47-yard gain. In Rebels territory, the Longhorns once again turned to the run and Terry III advanced 12 yards to the 2-yard line.
Texas scored off a quarterback sneak, and Manning’s walk into the end zone gave the Longhorns the lead once again. Notably, it was the first time Texas scored in the second half.
The Rebels progressed downfield; down seven points, they elected to line up for a 58-yard Carneiro field goal attempt, which was blocked. Texas took over on their own 41-yard line.
The Longhorns turned to their run game, and Brown had a gain of 12 and a gain of 28. Texas kicker Gianni Spectic sent it through the uprights, and with under three minutes to play, the Longhorns led by 10.
The Rebels worked quickly, and Carneiro knocked down a 39-yard field goal.
With slim chances to get the ball back, the Rebels lined up for an onside kick. Carnerio faked the kick, backup kicker Peter McStravick sent the ball bouncing off Texas receivers and the Rebels miraculously recovered the ball.
Chambliss secured the first down and worked the next set of plays from midfield. On 4th-and-8, Traylon Ray delivered to give the Rebels another first down.
The Rebels inched forward, and after a few more passes Chambliss had two seconds on the clock, but his final throw was picked off and the Rebels lost 34-27.
