No. 20 Texas jumps to big lead, holds off No. 9 Vanderbilt 34-31
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- No. 20 Texas must have missed playing at home.
After 42 days away from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the Longhorns used a red-hot start to propel their way to a 34-31 win over No. 9 Vanderbilt on Saturday, moving to 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
The Commodores didn't go down without a fight. Texas led 34-10 before Vanderbilt tightened the game with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Diego Pavia, who had been held in check for most of the game, found some space on a 25-yard scramble with 10:05 left to start the furious rally. Then, a coverage breakdown by Texas led to a 67-yard pass from Pavia to Eli Stowers with 3:54 left.
Vanderbilt converted a fourth-and-19 from its own 2-yard line after an Ethan Burke sack, and then blazed down the field behind Pavia's arm. He completed five passes to get the Commodores down to the Texas 5-yard line before he hit Richie Hoskins for a 6-yard touchdown with 0:33 left.
The ensuing onside kick squirted through the Texas hands team, but then went out of bounds before any Commodores could jump on it.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said the atmosphere almost made it feel like a playoff game.
"The offense played really efficient football, and that was going to be key with how Vanderbilt likes to play," he said. "It was nice to get back home, and I appreciate Longhorn Nation. It's always tough to do at 11 a.m., but they were a factor in the game, too."
From the outset, it looked like the Longhorns were going to run away with it. Texas scored on its first play of the game, a 75-yard catch and run by wide receiver Ryan Wingo on a screen pass from Arch Manning, and the Longhorns ended the opening frame with a 17-0 lead.
Manning, who spent all week going through concussion protocol following a hit he took in an overtime win against Mississippi State, played his best game as a Longhorn. He completed 25 of 33 passes for 328 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, hitting three different players for scores.
Sarkisian said some offensive line adjustments were able to give Manning "the best protection he's had all year." Cole Hutson returned from injury and moved from center to guard, and Connor Robertson from guard to center.
"That's a credit to everybody," he said. "I thought our tackles did a nice job, and then Arch helped them out, too. He did some things in protection to pick things up and allow us to throw it down the field. When you get to your second and third reads in your progression, the protection is pretty good."
Wingo did most of the work for his first score to open the game, but Manning found running back CJ Baxter for a 6-yard score near the end of the first quarter, and then hit Emmett Mosley V for a 6-yard touchdown in the third. Mosley ended the game with seven catches for 69 yards, while Wingo had two for 89 yards.
Quintrevion Wisner rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. He scored from 4 yards in the second quarter, flipping head over heels across the goal line. Texas scored on its first six drives and averaged 7.1 yards per play.
Pavia finished 27 of 38 with 365 yards and three touchdowns to go with 43 rushing yards on 14 attempts with another score. Stowers, who didn't have his first catch until late in the second quarter, racked up 146 receiving yards on seven catches and two scores.
The Longhorns played their previous four SEC games on the road, three of which were true road games and the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl. They finished the stretch with a 3-1 mark, losing to Florida in the SEC opener but beating the Sooners, Kentucky and Mississippi State.
The Longhorns got a little banged up, with Wingo leaving the game with a thumb injury and defensive back Jelani McDonald going out early. All-American safety Michael Taaffe is still recovering from thumb surgery and did not play.
Sarkisian said the team is maturing quickly, and the goal of making it to the SEC championship game is still in sight.
"When you lose your conference opener, it's one game at a time," Sarkisian said. "6-2 got you into the SEC championship game last year, but as I told the team, I'm not sure that will get you into it this year. The only way to go 7-1 is to win the next one. We have to pour all of our energy and focus into the next game."
Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) has a bye next week. Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2) plays Auburn next week.