This game was over. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was standing in his own endzone as he fired a pass on a fourth-and-19 play, trailing by 10 points, with the game clock ticking under 2 minutes to play.
Fast forward 90 seconds of game time and the ball is bouncing around near the sideline as multiple Vanderbilt players try to scoop it up before it goes out of bounds.
It eventually rolled out before a clear recovery. Texas took possession, kneeled down once, and breathed a sigh of relief after finally closing out a 34-31 win over No. 9 Vandy.
The 20th-ranked Longhorns led 34-10 going into the fourth quarter. A week after Texas pulled off an improbable comeback a week ago in Starkville, Vandy almost tipped the karmic scales back into balance by scoring 21 unanswered.
Pavia completed that fourth-down pass to Junior Sherrill for 21 yards and a conversion. He hit Sherrill again on the next play to gain 27. On the following play, Eli Stowers brought in a 16-yard reception and Vandy was suddenly knocking on the door of the red zone.
With 38 seconds to go, Pavia hit Richie Hoskins for an 8-yard score to cut the margin to 3.
Then came the onside try. A successful recovery would have put Vanderbilt a few plays out of field goal range. Texas possession would have ended the battle.
Arguably, the College Football Playoff hung in the balance as well. If that ultimately proves to be the case, the result of the play will live in the minds of Vanderbilt fans for a long time.
Both quarterbacks were outstanding in the game. Pavia threw for 365 yards and 3 scores while rushing for 43 and another touchdown. Texas quarterback Arch Manning went for 328 yards on 25-of-33 passing with 3 touchdowns.
Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) stays alive in the SEC title race and reignites its CFP chances. The Longhorns face Georgia next, looking for a fifth straight win.
Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2) will need chaos to get to Atlanta, but its CFP hopes aren’t dashed. The ‘Dores face Auburn at home next week. They host Kentucky on Nov. 22. Winning both might set up a play-in game in Knoxville on Nov. 29.
No. 20 Texas 34, No. 9 Vanderbilt 31
Here’s the Vandy-Texas box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Arch Manning vs Diego Pavia
Did Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia stay in the Heisman hunt? A statistical breakdown of how Pavia performed against former Heisman favorite Arch Manning:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
