STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Matthew Caldwell threw a touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley in overtime after Arch Manning was knocked out of the game with an apparent injury and No. 22 Texas came from behind to beat Mississippi State 45-38 on Saturday.
Ryan Niblett returned a punt 79 yards to tie the game with 1:47 to play in regulation as Texas erased a 31-14 deficit after three quarters.
“Once a year you have culture wins and that was our culture win (vs. Kentucky). I think we got a mulligan because this was our culture win,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a group of guys. Our toughness was going to have to be the best it’s ever been for our program.”
The Longhorns (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) still trailed 38-21 with 12:29 remaining in regulation after Davon Booth had a 62-yard catch and run for a touchdown for the Bulldogs.
A 21-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Mosley with 9:34 left and Mason Shipley’s 26-yard field goal in the final five minutes made it 38-31.
Manning finished 29 of 46 for 346 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and he also had a rushing touchdown before leaving early in overtime.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 0-4) were led quarterback Blake Shapen, who had a career game and finished 26 of 42 for 381 yards and four touchdowns. It wasn’t enough to end what is now a 16-game SEC losing streak for the Bulldogs, 12 of which have come under Jeff Lebby’s leadership.
“We’re going to find out what kind of foundation we have as we go on the road and play another really good football team,” Lebby said. “We’ve got to find a way to knock that door down. Incredibly disappointing, frustrating to say the least. We’ve got to finish the game and go win it and our guys understand that.”
Mississippi State had 445 yards of total offense, the most surrendered by the Longhorns all season.
Texas finished with 428 yards.
The Bulldogs had five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, but the Longhorns’ seven sacks were the difference as Shapen was dropped four times in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.
“It’s frustrating. We’ve got to be able to close games out better,” Shapen said. “It comes down to who wants it more. I think our team does want it more, but we’ve got to be able to show that more.”
Texas: The Longhorns were dead in the water but continue to find ways to win despite not playing up to the No. 1 ranking they had preseason.
Mississippi State: For the better part of three seasons, the Bulldogs have found ways to lose SEC games. They did it again on Saturday in spectacular fashion and lost their 16th-straight conference game.
Texas: Play host to No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Mississippi State: Visit Arkansas on Saturday.
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Mississippi State tight end Seydou Traore, left, is tackled by Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad, second from left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/James Pugh)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.
The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
