Saturday afternoon felt so very Texas. For three quarters, the Longhorns looked like the dominant squad that started the season as the No.1 team in the country. Arch Manning had his best game of the season, tearing up Vanderbilt’s defense and reminding everyone why the hype was once endless. With six seconds remaining in the third quarter, the No. 20 Longhorns lead 34–10, with their dreams of making the College Football Playoffs still alive. Steve Sarkisian said afterward to ESPN, “We’re always going to make things interesting around here I guess,” summing up perfectly as Texas walked off with a nerve-racking 34–22 win.

Looks like it’s that dim, shimmering route that leads Texas all the way to the SEC Championship, if you gaze hard enough. That 34-22 victory against No. 9 Vanderbilt just opened the door, which seems crazy for a team ranked 20th. Now that they are 7-2, the Longhorns are once again in the heart of the playoff discussion. In a recent X post, SEC Mike wrote, “There is a chance Texas makes the SEC Championship Longhorns need to win out and have Ole Miss lose one more game”. So all they need to do is win out and hope Ole Miss loses one more game, which is obviously easier said than done when your next visit is to Athens to play Georgia.

The good news? Before that crucial matchup with Georgia, Texas gets a bye week. After a tough time, Arch Manning and team deserve that type of break. After recovering from a concussion, Manning looked sharp, going 25-of-33 for 328 yards and three touchdowns. The offense finally came together as Sarkisian had promised all season. The Longhorns might cause the Bulldogs great discomfort if that Manning shows up in Athens and the Texas defense, which sacked Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia six times, can keep its edge.

Next are two classic, intense rivalry games between Texas A&M and Arkansas. After winning the past two games, the Razorbacks have been a pain in Texas’ side lately, and you can bet the Longhorns haven’t forgotten. And the Texas A&M championship game? That is the big one. Texas may go directly into the playoffs or, at the absolute least, the SEC championship game with a victory against the unbeaten Aggies, who are vying for the SEC title. Yes, Ole Miss may help Sarkisian’s team, but if the Longhorns end 10-2 with victories over Georgia and A&M, you can guarantee the playoff committee will have no option but to add Texas.

Texas survives another heartstopper against Vanderbilt

Literally on the first play, the evening got off to a great start. Texas didn’t waste any time in reminding everyone why they were ranked No. 1in the preseason. The Longhorns were dancing in the end zone 75 yards after Arch Manning dropped back and threw a little swing ball to Ryan Wingo. The fireworks started before the Darrell K. Royal audience had even taken their seats. At first, Texas didn’t seem to be interested in drama. The Longhorns blasted off to a 17-0 lead like it was backyard football in Austin, with the offense and the defense blazing. Till then, Vanderbilt hardly knew what hit them.

It felt like Texas was headed for a blowout by the time Manning hit CJ Baxter for a six-yard score and then saw Quintrevion Wisner dive into the end zone. Manning threaded passes like it was a seven-on-seven drill, going 6-for-6 on a single drive. Diego Pavia was fighting for his life against Colin Simmons and the Texas front as Vanderbilt found itself at a dead end. “We were just a little sluggish early,” admitted Vandy coach Clark Lea. “Against a really fast team, that hurts you fast.” But the Commodores didn’t give up. Late in the half, tight end Eli Stowers came alive, trimming the margin to 24-10 with an 18-yard score after Texas blew a coverage.

Then came the chaos. Texas extended its lead to 34-10 on another laser from Manning to Emmett Mosley, but Vanderbilt wasn’t finished yet. With 30 seconds remaining, it was 34-31 after Pavia scrambled for one point then found Stowers for another, a 67-yard bomb that hushed the crowd. You could practically hear everyone in Austin gasping when the onside kick began to bounce around. “To say that we weren’t the hardest playing team on the field hurts me,” Lea said afterward, proud yet devastated. Ultimately, the ball rolled out of bounds, and Texas managed to escape once more in the most thrilling and messy way, just clinging to their hopes of winning the SEC.