Texas football shows it can win tough road games - and play team ball - at Mizzou | Golden
· Yahoo Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. - They're alive and kicking some serious butt.
Over the last three weeks, the Texas Longhorns have risen from a watery football grave to announce their blatant intention to crash the College Football Playoff party with three had-to-have-them wins. Better yet, they received contributions Saturday from all over in an emphatic 34-20 taking of No. 18 Missouri with their latest 21-0 run, the other coming against then-No. 1 Ohio State.
Visit sportbet.rodeo for more information.
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) celebrates a play during the game against Missouri at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)As a spirited Texas turnout in the south end zone of Faurot Field roared their approval, Texas stars Hero Kanu, Ryan Wingo and Raheem Biles ran up to the railing and exchanged greetings to the delight of the visitors.
MORE HORNS: The fumble call that saved Texas
"We won it in all three phases," Texas quarterback Arch Manning said. "All three phases stepped up."
The No. 7 Longhorns (7-2, 4-2 SEC) are back in business with a trio of wins after unconscionable losses to Oklahoma and Florida. They will certainly move up from the No. 7 spot in the CFP rankings entering their next road test at LSU, and even with a loss they would stand a good chance of qualifying for one of those 12 spots with wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Texas finally has a 'team win,' but defense is key
But first things first. The term "team win" is more overused than Grandma's old dish rags, but this was a comprehensive performance of the highest order. Offense, defense, special teams, the Longhorn band. Everyone played a role in this one.
"No one thought we were going to come here and win the game," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "No one thought we were going to come here and win the game."
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) greets family in the stands after the game against Missouri at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)Well, in the interest of accuracy, I had the Horns winning 24-21. (And the Longhorns were 2½-point favorites, according to the major sportsbooks.)
Let's start with the defense. With edge rusher Colin Simmons limited with an ankle injury, Will Muschamp's crew played one of its best bend-but-don't-break games of the season. Westlake's Colton Vasek came off the edge and dumped Missouri QB Austin Simmons for a sack, setting the stage for the Horns to grab a CFP-sustaining win and cornerback Warren Roberson's big hit on wideout Cayden Lee resulted in the biggest takeaway of the season. I'm not sure Graceson Little should have taken knee at the 4-yard line instead scoring for a 14-point lead, but hey, it all worked out.
MORE CEDDY:New look Texas hoops has big promise
That defense also limited Jamal Roberts, the nation's third-leading rusher, to only 66 yards on 19 carries.
Most important was allowing only three points after the offense turned it over twice. Jelani McDonald is one of the most reliable tacklers on this roster, but the All-America candidate came in too hot on an 8-yard sideline throw to Naeshaun Montgomery with about five minutes left in the third quarter. And when the safety misses, there's rarely backup. Seventy-two yards later, Montgomery was celebrating in the end zone and Texas was down 20-13.
From there, the Horns showed the mettle Sark insisted they had.
"We said (Friday) night that adversity was going to strike and we needed to hang together," Sarkisian said."We needed to be mentally tough."
Sign up for Ced's Corner
Sign up for Cedric Golden's newsletter for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond delivered straight to your inbox. It's called Ced's Corner, from the NSMA's 2025 Texas Sportswriter of the Year.
About the Longhorns' special teams, offense
Offensively, Arch Manning played his best SEC game ever with a clean 28-of-38 day for 297 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Tigers came after from the start and despite all of that heat in his face, QB1 stood tall and delivered some real dimes, including a beauty to Raleek Brown on a wheel route to put the Horns up to stay.
The much-maligned special teams even had a hand in with Jonathan Cunningham's blocked punt.
That 14-1 record in November dating back to 2023 bodes well for what lies ahead.
Saturday's game at LSU will be only the third meeting of the two powers in the modern era and the first since LSU's epic 45-38 win in Austin back in 2018 when quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Sam Ehlinger gave us a shootout for the ages. Only this time, the game will be in Baton Rouge, which marks the first meeting in Death Valley since a 13-point loss in 1953.
The Horns showed up big in another gut check and just played themselves back into serious playoff contention.
They earned this one.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.This article originally published at Texas football shows it can win tough road games - and play team ball - at Mizzou | Golden.