Texas football has squandered much of the preseason hype it inspired and does not presently look like a Playoff-caliber team, but the campaign is not dead yet.
The Longhorns scratched and clawed their way to an SEC road win for the second week in a row, working especially hard to defeat snake-bitten Mississippi State in overtime, 45-38. They had to finish the game without quarterback Arch Manning, who suffered an injury in OT, but they got the job done in Davis Wade Stadium.
While it was a collectively resilient effort that helped erase a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, one play stands out most in this heroic feat. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Niblett returned a punt for a game-tying, 79-yard touchdown with less than two minutes remaining on the clock. Once he reached the end zone, the atmosphere might as well have turned orange. Although Mississippi State still had chances to prevail, a Texas triumph seemed inevitable after Niblett’s clutch and thrilling return.
Backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell completed one pass, a 10-yard touchdown to Emmett Mosley V that proved to be the deciding score. The Longhorns, just as they did throughout the fourth quarter, relied on their usually top-notch defense to put the Bulldogs away.
One can look at this nail-biter in two ways: Texas has a number of flaws and continues to labor against inferior competition, or the squad just earned another gritty win that could serve it well in a November slate that features Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Texas A&M. Perhaps both perspectives are valid.
In any case, head coach Steve Sarkisian and company leave Mississippi State with a 6-2 record on the season. Texas may not have the luxury of special teams magic when the No. 10 Commodores roll into Austin next Saturday afternoon, but Ryan Niblett is a valuable weapon that any team should covet.
https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/texas-football-news-ryan-niblett-ties-mississippi-state-game-unreal-79-yard-td-return
