3 reasons Texas’s comeback win over Mississippi State was huge for the Longhorns’ culture
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Thanks to failing to live up to lofty preseason expectations, many pundits around the nation are out on Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns as we prepare for Week 10 of the college football season.
Regardless if you rock with them or not, last week’s 17-point dramatic come from behind road win was a huge culture-building win and Manning’s first big step towards being the player many projected he will eventually become, even if he missed the bulk of overtime after suffering a concussion. Most people around the nation might say it’s only Mississippi State, but that sentiment fails to realize just how tough it is to win on road in the SEC (and just how much the Bulldogs have improved from last year).
The win gets a little extra mustard when you add in the fact it was Texas’s second win in back-to-back road games, which is hard for any team in SEC. Here are 3 reasons Texas’s comeback win over Mississippi State was huge for the Longhorns’ culture in the big picture.
1. Big step forward for Arch Manning
After struggling mightily against Kentucky a week ago and most of the season when he’s had an ineffective run game, Manning had the best all-around performance of his young career against Mississippi State.
Despite Texas’s leading rushers Quintrevion Wisner and C.J. Baxter rushing for only 41 and 27 yards, respectively, Manning was able to go 29-of-46 for 346 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception while also adding a rushing touchdown. Unlike in recent games, Manning was able to manage Mississippi State’s blitz storm effectively by navigating being hit 10+ times and sacked 5 times while setting a new career-high in passing yards.
With Texas down by 17 and its season on the line, the redshirt sophomore signal caller put together his most dominant stretch of the season. Manning started the dominant stretch off by hitting Ryan Wingo on a 62-yard strike to set Texas up inside the Mississippi State 5-yard line. Manning would go on to connect on 12-of-20 passes in the quarter for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Although Manning couldn’t fully complete the comeback due to sustaining a concussion in overtime, he showed the nation he has the skill, heart and ability to play well when the Longhorns’ backs are against the wall. This performance gives many people in Austin hope that the most famous player on their roster is legitimately good enough to live up to the hype when everything is said and done.
2. Steve Sarkisian moves culture forward through adversity
In a season where some of the top coaches in the game have gotten fired for not meeting expectations, Sarkisian continues to build a strong culture in Austin despite Texas not meeting most people’s preseason expectations.
At the end of the day, Texas has 2 losses at 2 of the hardest venues to win at in the nation on its ledger. The Longhorns have given the best team in the nation its closest game of the season, and somehow found a way to win a big rivalry game (Oklahoma) and 2 games in overtime on the road in SEC play in consecutive weeks. Regardless of the opponent or the circumstances, winning back-to-back road games in overtime and a neutral-site game in SEC play is impressive.
Texas must continue its “let’s find a way to win on Saturday” mentality if it wants to continue running the table to have a possible shot of making the College Football Playoff.
3. The Longhorns are built for the long haul
This might be the Longhorns’ second season in the SEC, but it’s starting to look like, even in a down season by their standards, they’ll still be a consistent threat in the SEC. Through 13 total games, Texas has produced a solid 10-3 record against SEC opponents.
Being able to get ugly gritty wins against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M last season and Kentucky and Mississippi State this season are part of the reason the last 2 weekends have been huge in the big picture for the Longhorns. Because if it was that easy to find ways to consistently win in the SEC, more people besides Alabama and Georgia would being winning throughout the conference on a yearly basis.
Texas might not be playing up to its lofty standards this year, but being able to win any type of game no matter the situation or opponent is huge for any program. As a result, Texas is raising the bar for its program even in a down season and in today’s era of college football, that’s all you can ask for from your coaching staff.
Kendrick E. Johnson writes for various national outlets such as High School on SI, Yardbarker, ESPN Andscape and MMA Weekly. He is an independent print journalist, sports television reporter and multimedia journalist who has covered the NBA Finals, NFL, NCAA football, MLB, NHL, WWE and over 75 world championship boxing and UFC Fights nationally. Johnson has also covered every prep sport possible in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and all across the great state of Texas. He’s done numerous 1-on-1 interviews with some of the biggest names and personalities in sports from Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and Shaq on the basketball side to Jon Jones, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford on the combat sports side and John Cena, Jey and Jimmy Uso and Charlotte Flair in WWE.
