Arch Manning, No. 21 Texas Beat Kentucky in OT, Underwhelm CFB Fans Amid CFP Race

Arch Manning and the No. 21 Texas Longhorns narrowly escaped with a 16-13 overtime road win over Kentucky on Saturday, capped by a game-winning field goal.

Despite a sluggish offensive performance, the Longhorns improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in SEC play, while the Wildcats dropped to 3-3 and remain winless in the conference at 0-4.

Manning struggled to spark the offense, completing 12-of-27 passes for 132 yards with no touchdowns and posting negative rushing yards. Quentrevion Wisner accounted for Texas’ lone touchdown on the ground.

Manning and Texas left fans underwhelmed with their performance on Saturday despite pulling off the overtime victory.

In overtime, a gutsy fourth-and-goal miss by Kansas allowed Texas to win with a walk-off field goal, with fans praising the Longhorns’ defense for the goal-line stop.

One touchdown in the second quarter, a field goal in the third and late field goal highlighted Texas’ offensive struggles, as the Longhorns managed just eight first downs and 171 total yards during regulation.

Heading into Saturday’s game, Manning had completed 63 percent of his passes, totaling 1,317 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions, while taking 10 sacks on the season.

They opened the AP preseason poll as the No. 1 ranked team in college football before a Week 1 loss to Ohio State. A 29-21 defeat to unranked Florida dropped them out of the rankings entirely, but a gutsy win over No. 6 Oklahoma the following week helped them climb back in at No. 21.

With a narrow overtime win over Kentucky, it would not be a surprise to see them bounced from the top 25 rankings once more. 

Texas will hit the road to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs next Saturday.

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