Texas Beats Missouri 34-20: Manning Throws Three Touchdowns as the Longhorns Score 21 Unanswered in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. — For 40 minutes on Saturday, Texas was losing the game it could not afford to lose. The seventh-ranked Longhorns trailed No. 18 Missouri 20-13 late in the third quarter at Faurot Field, had been outgained, and were staring at a second conference loss that would have all but ended their College Football Playoff case. They left with a 34-20 win, their third straight, built on 21 unanswered points and a fourth quarter they owned outright.

The hinge was a single chaotic snap. Facing third-and-10 at the Missouri 39 with 2:29 left in the third, Arch Manning was brought down and the ball came loose; officials ruled it a fumble recovered by Texas receiver Emmett Mosley V for a first down — a call Missouri's sideline disputed on the field and its supporters disputed all night, as Sports Illustrated and 247Sports both chronicled. Two plays later, Manning found Jermaine Bishop Jr. wide open for the touchdown that tied the game at 20, and the sellout crowd of 63,690 — the stadium's 25th consecutive sellout, per Missouri Athletics — went quiet.

The fourth quarter was all Texas. The Longhorns outgained Missouri 112-30 in the final period, according to the Associated Press figures carried in the recaps. Manning hit running back Raleek Brown on a 23-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score, and Brown sealed it with an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle. Manning finished 28 of 38 for 297 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions — his cleanest big-game line of the season.

Texas improves to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC; Missouri falls to 6-3 and 3-3, its playoff hopes effectively ended in front of its own crowd. The Longhorns' reward is another road test: at LSU on Saturday, November 14, in a game that now carries direct playoff weight. Missouri travels to No. 2 Georgia the same day.