Stats That Matter: Texas takes down Mississippi State in an overtime thriller

This Texas team truly plays at the level of their opponent.

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Outside of the Sam Houston game, it’s felt like Texas has had problems with every inferior team and played well against every high-level one they’ve faced.

For yesterday’s game, this specifically meant playing to Mississippi State’s strengths. The two teams traded scores in the fourth quarter in what turned into a deep-passing shootout. A once-seen-as-elite Texas defense was broken through multiple times, and an otherwise horrible offense from the year prior mounted a 17-point comeback with 10 minutes left in the game.

Texas is an odd roster. If you were expecting national championships (which most of us were), you are far from pleased with these performances. If you replaced this Texas team with a random Big 12 logo and jersey, they’d be one of the most enthralling teams in the nation.

Either way, Texas is 6–2, and the Longhorns are finding ways to win football games.

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A Great Arch Manning Performance

Arch Manning played phenomenally in the second half. He ended the day with 346 yards and a 76.7% adjusted completion percentage.

A lot didn’t go his way yesterday. His team had four drops. The Bulldogs tipped two passes. Manning had an interception despite having zero turnover-worthy throws (a key stat). The offensive line was, once again, a problem.

His 8.4 average depth of target is right where you want it—not overly short like against Kentucky, and not drastically too far down the field like he played against Florida. He was still sacked five times, some of which were his own fault, and you optimally don’t want to throw over 45 times in a game, but let’s be objective about Manning:

He is clearly a very talented quarterback who, in the right environment, will be an extremely polished college QB.

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Running Backs

CJ Baxter played just 21 snaps on the day to Quintrevion Wisner’s 60. It was clear they were easing him in.

Wisner’s rushing stats don’t properly reflect the run game; it was poor and not much of a factor, but he did average 4.3 yards per carry and 3.09 yards after contact per attempt. He’s clearly a good player—just not a great one.

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Wide Receivers

Emmett Mosley was second in snaps and targets among wideouts. This was a clear breakout game for him and potentially the sign of what’s to come.

Ryan Wingo averaged four yards per route run. His 129 yards after the catch were nearly 40 more than the next-highest Power Four wide receiver. He also had three drops—a confusing player.

Mosley gave quarterbacks a 134 passer rating when targeted. He played extremely well.

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Offensive Line

Connor Stroh, in his return from injury, played quite a bit. He took over for DJ Campbell at right guard when Campbell was hurt, then became the closer at left guard in this game. He played 44 more snaps than Nick Brooks. It was also easily his best game by PFF grade. Still, he and Campbell combined for 10 pressures, while the tackles combined for two.

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Defense Notes

Anthony Hill had nine pressures, five QB hurries, and two sacks. Sometimes you forget he was an edge rusher to start his career. The team pressured Blake Shapen 29 times.

Texas as a whole missed 13 tackles, and it showed.

Liona Lefau had arguably his worst game as a Longhorn. He missed three tackles, was targeted six times for five receptions, and was credited with 131 yards allowed. Jaylon Guilbeau was the most picked-on defensive back.

Xavier Filsaime played 63 snaps, while Derek Williams played 29.

Lance Jackson played much more off the edge than players like Brad Spence, Zina Umeozulu, and Trey Moore. Moore played all over, and Umeozulu had just eight snaps.

Travis Shaw played just seven snaps after a strong performance last week. Hero Kanu was far and away the highest-snapped defensive tackle.