No. 11 Texas vs. Mississippi State live updates: Maraad Watson’s fumble return TD gives Horns a 17-0 lead at halftime

Looking to start a new winning streak, the No. 11 Texas Longhorns got off to a strong start against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, racing out to a 7-0 lead on the first possession thanks to two big catches by junior wide receiver Cam Coleman.

Back from a shoulder injury that shortened his outing against Ole Miss last week, Coleman helped Texas overcome a sack on the second play of the opening drive by catching a curl route at the sticks on 3rd and 8 and advanced nearly 40 more yards for a 47-yard gain.

Coleman entered the game with only 33 yards after the catch on his 21 receptions, an average of 1.6 yards after the catch.

Into the red zone, Texas caught Mississippi State with the single deep safety cheating to the other side of the field — the middle of the field was not closed on a middle field closed coverage, allowing Coleman to win inside for a 14-yard touchdown reception.

The Bulldogs punted after a four-play drive and the Longhorns responded by going three and out. Facing 3rd and 5, Mississippi State lined wide receiver Anthony Evans III up as a running back and hit him on a wheel route for an 11-yard reception. On the subsequent 3rd and 4, quarterback AJ Swann, starting over Billy Pucket, gained one yard, but the offense stayed on the field in positive territory until a false start forced the punt team out. After another false start, the Bulldogs punted the ball into the end zone.

Despite a positive six-yard gain by freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop on a screen pass, Texas punted again after three plays when senior running back Hollywood Smothers was stopped for a loss on second down and Manning couldn’t find junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo on third down when all the route runners failed to create separation.

On end around, Evans had enough blockers in front of him to gain five yards and Swann was able to stand in the pocket on second down, finding a hole in the Texas zone coverage for a 23-yard gain. A designed run for Swann from an empty formation was stopped for a short gain. Snapping the ball to running back Fluff Bothwell directly, the Bulldogs only manufactured two yards, but a check down to Bothwell on third down resulted in the stout ball carrier breaking tackles to move the chains.

Going to a run-pass option, Swann maintained his perfect passing start to the game with a seven-yard gain that sent the game into the second quarter.

Second quarter

Powering through another tackle attempt, Bothwell converted the 2nd and 3 to open the second quarter moved Mississippi State into the red zone, but required a video review that overturned the spot. Bothwell picked it up in short yardage. Another direct snap to Bothwell was supposed to be a toss play to Evans, but Bothwell botched the toss and the ball went out of bounds for a six-yard loss. On 3rd and 12, Swann wasn’t on the same page as his receiver after Evans motioned around the field, leading to a 38-yard field-goal attempt that hit the right upright and fell into the end zone to keep the score 7-0.

A push pass to Wingo to open the Texas drive picked up eight yards, but sophomore running back Michael Terry III was stopped for a short gain on second down. Facing 3rd and 1, Manning took a quarterback sneak for a first down by running into a big opening in the A gap. Manning took a bit hit trying to scramble on a play negated by a holding penalty on senior left tackle Mevlin Siani. With backup quarterback KJ Lacey into the game, fifth-year running back Raleek Brown was able to take the edge against a blitz for an 11-yard gain. On 2nd and 9, Manning got pressure into his face as soon as he executed a play-action fake and had to throw incomplete before scrambling for a tough first down that left his right hand bloody.

Brown only picked up two yards on first down and two yards on second down as Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian opted against a shot play from the shot zone to set up 3rd and 6, a designed run for Manning that was ruled a first down after video review. Manning checked down to junior wide receiver Emmett Mosley for a five-yard gain, but Smothers was dropped for a loss and senior right tackle Andre Cojoe made the third down more difficult to convert with a false start.

After an eigth-yard completion to Bishop on third down, Sarkisian faced a decision on 4th and 4 from the 36-yard line, taking a timeout to deliberate and opting for a 45-yard field goal driven through the uprights by senior kicker Gianni Spetic for a 10-0 lead.

Mississippi State was able to pick up a first down in short yardage, but diminutive wide receiver Zion Ragins couldn’t convert another on a catchable throw, leading to a major swing when the 76-yard punt return touchdown by Ryan Niblett was negated because of a block in the back penalty on walk-on wide receiver Rett Andersen.

An illegal formation penalty on Texas pushed them back towards the goal line, which nearly resulted in a safety when Smothers was hit for a three-yard loss to the 1-yard line. Two carries by Manning only picked up nine yards and Texas had to punt the ball away. The 36-yard effort by fifth-year punter Mac Chiumento hardly flipped the field.

After the Bulldogs picked up a first down, the Longhorns defense delivered a game-changing play when senior linebacker Rasheem Biles forced a fumble by Swann recovered by junior defensive tackle Maraad Watson and returned for a 57-yard touchdown.

Injured on the play, Swann left the field before halftime.

As Mississippi State tried to score before the break, sacks by sophomore defensive lineman Justus Terry and junior defensive end Zina Umeozulu ended the half.