It was, yet again, a little too close for comfort for the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. The No. 7 team in the nation got quite the scare from No. 18 Missouri, who led 20-13 late in the third quarter. That’s when Arch Manning and the Texas offense turned things up a notch.

Manning threw touchdowns on the Longhorns’ final possession of the third quarter and their second possession of the fourth quarter. Texas then took advantage of a Mizzou fumble to put the game away with just over a minute left in the game. The Longhorns ended up with a 34-20 victory.

It was yet another promising performance from Manning, who put together a second-consecutive three passing touchdown performance. Against Missouri, Manning completed 28-of-38 passes for 297 yards and those three scores. It was his highest passing total since the first game of the season.

Arch Manning and Drew Mestemaker both showed their NFL potential this weekend

This type of momentum is great news for Texas as the College Football Playoff nears. If Manning finishes the season strong, like he’s played the past two weeks, he may very well consider making the jump for the 2027 NFL Draft. Despite his flaws, he’s still considered a potential first overall pick.

His biggest problem in that regard right now is Drew Mestemaker. The Oklahoma State quarterback balled out yet again this week, throwing for 323 yards and five touchdowns. It’s his second five-touchdown game of the season, and he’s now thrown 12 touchdowns over his past three games.

No. 24 Oklahoma State actually ended up losing on Saturday to Iowa State despite Mestemaker’s big game. After a stellar season at North Texas in 2025, Mestemaker has been every bit as good as advertised in his debut season with Oklahoma State.

As of right now, he’s considered a better draft prospect than Manning. A lot can change over these next few weeks in college football, though.