Immediate Takeaways From Texas Longhorns' Halloween Win vs. Mississippi State

The Texas Longhorns finally closed out a game without dramatic theatrics at the end.

No. 11 Texas handled Mississippi State in a convincing 31-3 win on Halloween night in Austin on Saturday, putting an end to what was a rocky month of October for the Longhorns.

Texas is on a two-game winning streak headed into November and is still very much in the mix for a College Football Playoff spot.

Here are the main takeaways from Texas' blowout win over the Bulldogs:

Arch Manning Handled His Business

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against the Mississippi State Cougars at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Aside from a lost fumble in the third quarter, Manning played a clean game and was about as solid as Steve Sarkisian could have hoped for.

He finished the night 16 of 20 passing for 220 yards, three touchdowns and no picks along with 13 carries for 10 yards. He took a few hard hits and had to come out for a play after his helmet came off.

But that didn't stop Manning from connecting multiple times with Emmett Mosley V, who had his best game of the year with four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Cam Coleman looked like he was in for a big game but he suffered an injury in the first half and never returned. He finished with two catches for 61 yards and a score.

There wasn't a let-down performance from Manning after the big-time win over Ole Miss last week. He was accurate and composed, and most importantly, didn't try to do too much. Any major mistakes down the field could have given Mississippi State momentum in a game that it simply had no chance in.

Manning has led Texas to two straight wins after being faced with massive criticism, but he will need to be even better next week at Missouri.

Rasheem Biles Leads Dominant Performance for Texas Defense

Unlike the Florida game, the Longhorns' defense didn't come close to letting a backup quarterback beat them.

To be fair, there's a massive gap between Kamario Taylor and his backups compared to Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. at Florida. Still, the Longhorns could have let a similar result repeat itself but took over the game instead.

The highlight of the night was a 61-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Maraad Watson at the end of the first half to give Texas a 17-0 lead going into halftime. However, the MVP on defense goes to Rasheem Biles, who finished with a career-high three sacks along with two forced fumbles while continuing to prove he's likely the second-best player on the roster.

After zero sacks against Ole Miss, the Longhorns had seven sacks against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs punted seven times and got into the red zone just once.

No More Nightmares in the Third Quarter, at Least for Now

The third quarter started off in typical Texas fashion -- a lost fumble from Manning that gave Mississippi State the ball deep in Longhorn territory.

The Longhorns defense Mississippi State to a field goal despite the turnover but it still looked like it was a sign of things to come for Texas, which has been simply awful in the third quarter the entire season.

Instead, Texas finally showed some life in the third quarter. With a Manning touchdown pass to Raleek Brown, the Longhorns scored their first third-quarter touchdown since the opener against Texas State. Hard to imagine it's actually been that long.

Running Game Took a Massive Step Back

Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown (0) warms up before a game against the Mississippi State Cougars at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On a night where the defense dominated and the passing game had its moments, it was the running game that proved to be the obvious negative for Texas, something that came as a surprise given what the Longhorns did last week against Ole Miss with 207 rushing yards.

Against a Mississippi State defense that's allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game this season, there's simply no reason why the Longhorns couldn't have had a better night on the ground.

Texas running back Raleek Brown finished with just eight carries for 30 yards while Michael Terry III had four carries for 16 yards. The Longhorns finished with 32 carries for 60 yards at a dreadful 1.9 yards per carry.

Fortunately, the Longhorns have shown what they are capable of on a good night but the consistency needs to be there.

The health of Hollywood Smothers, who appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in the second half, will be something to monitor moving forward.

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