Texas Rallies Past Missouri 34-20 With 21 Straight Points After a Disputed Review
Trailing 20-13 late in the third quarter, Texas scored 21 unanswered points to beat Missouri 34-20 in Columbia on Saturday. Arch Manning threw three touchdown passes, Raleek Brown scored the final two and a hotly debated replay review swung the marquee game of the afternoon. Ranked No. 7 in the College Football Playoff standings, Texas (7-2, 4-2 SEC) stays firmly in the race for one of the 12 playoff spots.
A Tense Reunion in Columbia
The game was played at Memorial Stadium. The former Big 12 rivals had not met since the 2017 Texas Bowl, and Texas had not played in Columbia since 2011, when Missouri won 17-5. Texas came in No. 10 in the AP poll and Missouri No. 19; in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings, the Longhorns were No. 7 and the Tigers No. 18.
Missouri struck first when Austin Simmons found Brett Norfleet for a 2-yard touchdown. Texas answered with a 24-yard screen pass from Manning to running back Derrek Cooper. Blake Craig put the Tigers back in front with a 22-yard field goal before Gianni Spetic tied it from 27 yards. It was 10-10 at halftime.
The first half could have tilted more clearly toward Missouri. Texas had several ball-security problems, including a lost fumble on a kickoff return, but the Tigers failed to cash in fully: Craig missed two field goals on the afternoon, including a short attempt in the second quarter.
The Turning Point: A Review That Will Be Debated
The third quarter initially belonged to Missouri. After an exchange of field goals (48 yards for Craig, 34 for Spetic), Simmons hit Naeshaun Montgomery on a short pass and he raced the rest of the way for a 72-yard touchdown. Missouri led 20-13 and the stadium was roaring.
The game turned with 2:22 left in the quarter. On third-and-10, Manning was hit on the arm as he threw. The ball hit the turf, most players stopped, assuming an incompletion, and Emmett Mosley V picked it up. Officials did not rule it incomplete and, after review, the call stood: a fumble recovered by Texas for a first down. Replays showed Manning still holding the ball as his arm started forward; the rulebook requires the passer to have "firm" control for the motion to count as a pass, and officials judged that control had been lost. All five replay reviews in the game went against the Tigers.
Texas made it count. A few plays later, Manning found Jermaine Bishop Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown, and the game was tied 20-20 heading into the fourth quarter.
Brown and the Defense Close It Out
The decisive catch came with 5:03 remaining. Brown slipped free on a wheel route down the sideline and gave Texas its first lead of the afternoon, 27-20. Missouri got the ball back, but inside the final two minutes, on third down, Cayden Lee was hit hard right after a Simmons pass arrived. The ball came loose and Graceson Littleton grabbed it, a play counted as an interception. Brown sealed it with an 8-yard run with 1:25 left.
Manning finished 28 of 38 for 297 yards and three touchdowns, all longer than 20 yards, with no interceptions. Brown ran 17 times for 85 yards and scored twice, once rushing and once receiving. Mosley caught five passes for 85 yards and Bishop four for 60. For Missouri, Simmons threw for 252 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Montgomery had 81 yards on two catches, but Jamal Roberts, the SEC's leading rusher, was held to 66 yards.
What It Means for Texas and Missouri
For Texas, the win carries extra weight. The Longhorns earned it on the road against a ranked opponent and with a depleted roster: wide receiver Cam Coleman (shoulder) did not play, offensive tackle Trevor Goosby is out for the season (knee) and edge rusher Colin Simmons, slowed by a high ankle sprain, was used only sporadically. Running back Hollywood Smothers is also out for the rest of the season. With two losses, Texas still controls its own path in the College Football Playoff race, which the 12-team format has made more forgiving. The next test comes next week against LSU, which faces Alabama this Saturday.
The rest of the afternoon showed how crowded the top of the field has become. In the Big 12, Utah beat BYU 28-20 to stay unbeaten, while in the Big Ten, UCLA pulled away late for a 34-20 win at Minnesota to remain unbeaten as well. In that landscape, Texas could not afford a third loss: it would have pushed the Longhorns behind several contenders for an at-large spot, if not out of the 12-team field entirely. Instead, the win in Columbia gives them real margin heading into the rest of November, provided they back it up against LSU.
For Missouri (6-3, 3-3 SEC), the cost is steep. It is a third conference loss, and the schedule offers no relief: Georgia, Kentucky and then Oklahoma. The defeat likely ends the Tigers' playoff hopes, and they could also fall out of the Top 25.
What lingers is the shape of the afternoon: a game Missouri controlled for long stretches, lost on a debatable officiating decision and a fourth quarter in which Texas, led by Manning and Brown, finally played up to its ambitions.
