AUSTIN, Texas – Arch Manning passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score, and No. 1 Texas got another standout performance from its defense to earn its first Southeastern Conference victory, 35-13 over Mississippi State, on Saturday.

Manning was 26 of 31 passing for 324 yards in his second consecutive start in place of Quinn Ewers, who is still recovering from an abdominal strain.

Texas joined the SEC from the Big 12 this season and delivered a rough, ragged and ultimately effective debut.

Manning’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Deondre Moore in the second quarter, and his 1-yard TD run in the third, opened a tighter-than-expected game with the Bulldogs, who have lost four in a row.

Manning set up his own touchdown with a 26-yard scramble near the goal line, and the touchdown made it 21-6 on the final play of the third quarter.

Another scoring strike against Moore early in the fourth put the game away for the Longhorns (5-0, 1-0).

Texas had swept its first four games and was racing to an opening touchdown in five games. But the Longhorns quickly bogged down with a turnover, a failed touchdown pass and a partially blocked punt.

Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2) had beaten Texas in total yards and pulled within 7-6 late in the first half on two Kyle Ferrie field goals until Manning countered a blitz and delivered a perfect strike to Moore just before he was hit.

The Longhorns defense did not allow a touchdown until Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren made a 12-yard run with just under 7 minutes remaining. That score marked a streak of nine consecutive quarters without giving up a touchdown.

Van Buren started in place of Blake Shapen, who dropped out of the season a week ago with a shoulder injury. He finished with 144 yards passing and the TD run.

The takeaway

State of Mississippi: A run-first game plan with Van Buren did what it could to keep the high-powered Texas offense off the field.

It worked until Manning’s late TD strike in the second quarter.

Van Buren seemed to be on his best behavior in his first career start on the road against the No. 1 team in front of about 101,000 opponents.

Texas: The Longhorns struggled through three quarters against one of the nation’s worst rush defenses, and they were messy, committing nine penalties for 75 yards.

Starting tailback Jaydon Blue killed two Texas drives with fumbles.

There’s plenty to clean up before the next two games against No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 2 Georgia, which will play a big role in whether the Longhorns compete for the SEC championship.

Next

Mississippi State has next week off before playing No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 12.

Texas has next week off before facing No. 21 Oklahoma on Oct. 12 in Dallas.