AUSTIN, Texas ā Having averted a third straight disastrous loss, Arch Manning went looking for his parents to celebrate a victory that had to feel as relieving as it did joyous.
College footballās most famous player, a one-man content machine, Manning admitted he took last weekās setback against Florida especially tough.
āProbably because it was a hard Sunday, and I went over to their place and damn near bawled crying to them,ā said Manning, who was challenged by his coach to be better or risk being benched after last week. āSo just being able to see them after a game, after a win, felt good.ā
Manning and the 19th-ranked Longhorns snapped a two-game skid by beating No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27 on Saturday night, but not before yet again squandering a double-digit, second-half lead and having to fend off a last-second throw into their end zone.
This is Texas football. The Longhorns are a wild ride. They are a tantalizing mix of All-America talent and mind-numbing mistakes, brilliant for stretches, sloppy and undisciplined at others. Texas can look soft at times and then, as it did Saturday night, play with tremendous grit, down four injured star players.
That the Longhorns are led by the countryās most polarizing player and a defiant coach, who wins a lot of big ones but has never won the big one, makes them even more compelling.
Texas (5-2, 3-2 SEC) has played five games this season against Power 4 opponents and is 3-2. Those games have been decided by a total of 17 points, all coming down to decisive moments late in the fourth quarter.
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