Texas blows a 24-3 halftime lead and needs a last-play pick to survive Ole Miss

No. 19 Texas beat No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27 on Saturday night, and it took Jelani McDonald's interception in the end zone on the final play to finish it. The Longhorns led 24-3 at halftime.

Texas fans will take it after two straight losses to unranked teams knocked the Longhorns off the top spot. They also watched their team come within one throw of blowing a 21-point lead.

Texas got the ball to open the second half with a 21-point cushion. On that first possession, Arch Manning was blindsided by Blake Purchase, and Kam Franklin recovered the fumble in the end zone for an Ole Miss touchdown. A few series later, Trinidad Chambliss hit Horatio Fields for a 27-yard score, and the game was tied 24-24 early in the fourth quarter.

The Associated Press counted 14 Texas penalties, a season high, and several of them were personal fouls that didn't have to happen. Penalties on the Texas defense fueled the drive that ended with Fields' first touchdown catch. The AP also flagged special teams as a problem again, and the end of the game proved it. After Lucas Carneiro's field goal cut it to 34-27 with 1:22 left, Emmett Mosley IV couldn't hang on to the onside kick, and the Rebels got one more shot.

Credit Manning for the response when it was tied. Raleek Brown broke a 47-yard run, and Manning faked a handoff and walked in from a yard out untouched for the lead. Brown finished with 157 yards, and Manning had two rushing touchdowns and a 50-yard scoring pass to Ryan Wingo. He also threw two interceptions and lost the fumble.

Then there's Cam Coleman, the high-priced Auburn transfer. He dropped a would-be 59-yard touchdown in the first quarter and left after landing on his left shoulder on the first play of the second half.

Texas is 5-2 and hosts Mississippi State next Saturday. A win counts, but a team that keeps building big leads and then handing them back isn't going to get away with it every week.