Caught at the 21, sophomore returner Ryan Niblett bolted to his left, head looking down the middle of the field.
He ran to the Mississippi State sideline by the 25, making a man in maroon dive and miss in the process. Then, at the 30, Niblett made another defender miss by cutting sharply to his right, almost losing his balance in the process. With his head parallel to the turf, Niblett hobbled until he was set again. Eyes still downfield, he found a hole at midfield. Then, at the 40, and then at the 30, and then at the 20, with nobody in sight but the droopy eyes of the Bulldog bench.
Tie game.
With just over 12 minutes left in the game, No. 22 Texas was initially losing by 17, with its playoff hopes seemingly in doubt. But with Niblett’s second career touchdown return, the Longhorns and their gracious host were on their way to an overtime bout.
It seemed impossible — the game felt like it was over after senior running back Davon Booth went 62 yards to make the score 38-21 in the final quarter. Mississippi State, 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference at the time, was finally on its way to a win in the SEC for the first time in two years. They’ve come close, with an overtime loss to Tennessee and a two-point loss to Florida just a week ago. It seemed like a win in conference play was finally coming.
ESPN analytics gave the Bulldogs a 98.6% chance of winning after Booth’s touchdown.
However, because of Niblett’s 79-yard return, an overtime touchdown catch by sophomore receiver Emmett Mosley V and an overtime sack by senior edge rusher Ethan Burke, Texas would escape with a win.
“I think we got a mulligan because tonight was a culture win,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said, as reported by Inside Texas. “I said this to the team. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a group of guys. When they go up 17 in the fourth quarter … these guys literally didn’t blink.”
Although getting hurt on Texas’ lone overtime drive, Manning threw for a career high in passing yards with 346 and three touchdowns to go along with it. He found sophomore receivers Parker Livingstone in the end zone twice and Ryan Wingo five times for 184 yards. Sarkisian didn’t have any updates postgame, so the offensive general’s status for Vanderbilt is in question.
On the defensive side, the line picked up seven sacks in the backfield, led by the efforts of junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., who had 2.5 of those sacks.
The defense forced three turnovers on downs — once on a 4th and one stop in the first quarter, once on a fourth-and-two sack and finally in overtime. Even though Texas gave up its most points of the season so far, with a previous high of 29 against Florida, it’s hard not to credit the defensive side of the football.
In the end, it was the kind of game that reminds everyone why Texas still belongs in the national conversation. The defense never broke, and the offense found life behind its young core.
And in the middle of it all, a sophomore returner changed everything with one run.
For a team with playoff dreams still flickering, the night in Starkville was more than a comeback — it was a statement.
After over a month away from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Texas football will return to Austin next Saturday against No. 10 Vanderbilt.
