No. 11 Texas rolls past Mississippi State for rare stress-free win of late

Texas defensive lineman Maraad Watson (88) celebrates his fumble return TD with defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and teammates during the Longhorns' win over Mississippi State on Saturday in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman) AUSTIN - Arch Manning threw for three touchdowns, and 11th-ranked Texas added a defensive score to finally win without any drama as the Longhorns overwhelmed Mississippi State 31-3 on Saturday night at Royal-Memorial Stadium.Heck, they even scored a touchdown in the third quarter.The Longhorns' second straight victory was anything but a showcase, however. Texas failed to show any kind of ground game, rushing for just 60 yards and giving up five sacks to a Bulldogs defense that ranked 14th in the SEC.Playing without injured All-Americans at edge rusher (Colin Simmons) and left tackle (Trevor Goosby), Texas produced a workmanlike effort to thwart the punchless Bulldogs and almost pitched a shutout. Mississippi State's lone score came of Kyle Ferrie's 30-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.The Longhorns improved to 6-2 with their second consecutive home win and 3-2 in league play before preparing to embark on the stretch drive with three of their last four games on the road. Texas goes to Missouri next week for an 11 a.m. kickoff.Mississippi State, which lost its spectacular quarterback Kamario Taylor to toe surgery, was never a threat and fell to 4-4 and 2-4 in SEC action.Manning threw for at least three touchdowns for the third time this season and the eighth time in his career. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 220 yards with one fumble and ran 13 times for a net 10 yards.The Bulldogs put up a good fight for a while with two electric offensive players in Anthony Evans III, the SEC's leading receiver, and physical running back Fluff Bothwell, the fourth-leading rusher in the conference.Texas finally got another defensive touchdown - its second of the season - to compensate for yet another sluggish offensive performance.Defensive lineman Maraad Watson's scoop and score after a fumble forced by linebacker Rasheem Biles' sack went for 61 yards and completely shifted the momentum of the game.Trailing just 10-0 late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs had just pinned the Longhorns inside their 10 and gotten terrific field position at the Texas 46. Four plays later, Biles came on a delayed blitz and sacked surprise starter AJ Swann, causing the fumble and injuring the third-string quarterback's shoulder.Watson, a 6-3, 333-pound defensive tackle, gathered in the ball like an all-star shortstop and sprinted up the right sideline with a convoy of blockers. It marked the first defensive score since the season opener against Texas State when nickel back Graceson Littleton ran back a fumble recovery 59 yards for a touchdown.The wild play allowed Texas to regain control of the game and extend its small lead to 17-0 at halftime. The Longhorns had been largely ineffective on offense up to that point against the nation's 105th ranked defense, finishing with only 126 yards in the first half, just 37 of which came on the ground.Texas built its fourth double-digit lead in as many games but didn't blow this one. In fact, the Longhorns even ended their third-quarter curse. After getting outscored 31-3 in that period in their first four SEC games, Texas mounted a 75-yard scoring drive. Manning connected with Emmett Mosley V for 37 yards, found Raleek Brown on a nifty screen pass for 22 yards and hit Brown again out of the backfield for a 4-yard touchdown.SubscribeThere’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at No. 11 Texas rolls past Mississippi State for rare stress-free win of late.