Texas quarterback Arch Manning left the game after his helmet appeared to bounce off the ground at the end of a 13-yard run on the first play of overtime in the No. 22 Longhorns’ 45-38 victory at Mississippi State on Saturday.
Manning dropped back to throw on the play but scrambled up the middle when he couldn’t find an open receiver. As Manning dove to the ground as he was being tackled by safety Isaac Smith, he was hit from behind by defensive lineman Kedrick Bingley-Jones.
Texas right tackle Brandon Baker tried to help Manning up, but the signal-caller struggled to get on his feet and sat on the field, sending trainers out to get him. Manning was in the medical tent at the end of the contest.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t have an update on Manning after the game, telling reporters, “We’ll find out more when we get back to Austin.”
Backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell came into the game and threw a 10-yard touchdown to Emmett Mosley V to finish the Longhorns’ stunning comeback, in which they rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
According to ESPN Research, the Longhorns were the first SEC team to rally from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win since South Carolina came back from 17-0 down to beat Missouri 27-24 in two overtimes in 2013.
After a slow start, Manning had perhaps his best performance at Texas, completing 29 of 46 passes for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also ran for another score. He was 12-for-20 for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, becoming the first Texas quarterback with at least 150 passing yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter since Sam Ehlinger in 2019.
Trailing 38-21, Manning gave the Longhorns some life when he threw a 21-yard touchdown to Mosley to cut Mississippi State’s lead to 38-28 with 9:34 to go.
Texas’ defense came up with two sacks to force a three-and-out on the Bulldogs’ next possession, and the Longhorns reached the MSU 5. Texas had to settle for Mason Shipley’s 26-yard field goal that made it 38-31.
After another three-and-out from the Bulldogs, Texas’ Ryan Niblett returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 38 with 1:47 left in regulation.
The Longhorns will host No. 10 Vanderbilt next week.