Johnny Manziel gave the college football world a moment to pause, but returned to do what he does against Ole Miss. Photo: USA Today Sports.
Ole Miss came into this game licking their wounds after losing two games on the road. A&M came in with two straight wins and looking to bolster their BCS resume and keep pace in the SEC West. Due to a scheduling quirk, for the second straight year Texas A&M traveled to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. Would that be the medicine that the Rebels needed after two straight road losses?
Early in the game, Johnny Manziel left with a leg injury (see video below) but he was able to shake it off and get back in the game on the next series. The Aggies finished with 587 yards of total offense. Manziel accounted for 124 on the ground and 346 through the air but they needed a comeback for the second straight year to upend a game Ole Miss team.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=q-THYMxNeNo
In 2012, Texas A&M had to erase a ten point deficit in the fourth to overcome Ole Miss in Oxford. This year, the Aggies found themselves down by seven at two different times during the fourth against a Rebels squad that was having their way with the Aggies defense.
Early in the fourth, Manziel fumbled and the Rebels immediately took advantage by scoring a TD and going up seven points. The teams would then trade touchdowns. Bo Wallace hit Jaylen Walton for a 50 yard TD pass and Laquon Treadwell for a 19 yarder. A&M countered with TD runs by Trey Williams and Manziel to tie the game with 2:58 left. With the score tied, Ole Miss went three and out on their last drive. Then Manziel worked a little magic to get the Aggies into field range as he hit a 14 yard pass to start the drive, then ran for two 10+ yard runs before handing it over to his RB corps to get it set up for the game winning FG.
This was a game where Manziel made some mistakes with a fumble and an INT and he also left the game at one point with an injury. Being the gamer that he is, Manziel brought his team from behind in a tough road environment completing 79% of his passes and also using his legs for 2 touchdowns. After a tumultuous off-season, Manziel has returned to form as a must see player on Saturday's and a Heisman front-runner.
