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Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns are moving closer to playoff contention after a disappointing start to the season.
The No. 20-ranked Longhorns held on to beat No. 9 Vanderbilt 34-31 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Manning, 21, was impressive in the win. He completed 25 of 33 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns.
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It was his second straight week with an impressive performance, as he completed 29 of 46 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in their overtime win over Mississippi State last week.
Texas started off fast against Vanderbilt. On the first play from scrimmage, Manning hit wide receiver Ryan Wingo on a screen pass for a 75-yard touchdown. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia fumbled on the ensuing possession, setting the Longhorns up for a field goal to make it 10-0 just a couple of minutes into the game.
The Longhorns took a 17-0 lead into the second quarter after Manning led a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to running back CJ Baxter.
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The Commodores responded with a field goal to make it 17-3, but the Longhorns' offense scored another touchdown. Running back Quintrevion Wisner punched it into the end zone from four yards out to make it 24-3.
Pavia put together a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, connecting with tight end Eli Stowers on an 18-yard touchdown to cut the Texas lead to 24-10 going into halftime.
Vanderbilt got the ball first in the second half and had a chance to cut into the lead, but went three-and-out. Manning then led another long touchdown drive - a 93-yard 13-play drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V to make it 31-10.
Vanderbilt stormed back with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut it to 34-31, but it was not enough. With 33 seconds left, Vanderbilt nearly corraled the offsides kick to give them a chance to tie, but the ball squeaked out of bounds at the last moment.
Pavia completed 27 of 38 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
The Longhorns improved to 7-2 with the win, and have a week off before their next game against Georgia (6-1). A win over Georgia would go a long way towards getting Texas into the playoffs.
Vanderbilt fell to 7-2 with the loss and will look to bounce back against Auburn (4-4) next week.
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