No. 1 Texas to start SEC schedule with mid-afternoon kick

  

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 1 Texas Longhorns will kick off Southeastern Conference play on the conference’s television network.

The SEC announced Sunday that the Longhorns and Mississippi State will play at 3:15 p.m., Sept. 28 from DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Behind a smothering defense and Arch Manning’s first career start at quarterback, the Longhorns clobbered Louisiana-Monroe 51-3 Saturday to end the nonconference schedule with a 4-0 record. Texas allowed 111 yards of total offense and Manning threw for 258 yards in the win.

Mississippi State lost its SEC opener Saturday to the Florida Gators 45-28 and starting quarterback Blake Shapen suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Shapen transferred from Baylor in the offseason and gave the Bulldogs some stability at quarterback after Will Rogers left for Washington. Freshman Michael Van Buren Jr. filled in for Shapen against the Gators and is expected to be the starter against Texas.

The Bulldogs are 1-3 with consecutive losses to Arizona State, Toledo and Florida. They won their season opener 56-7 over Eastern Kentucky.