Texas comes into Saturday night’s matchup with Mississippi State still very much in the CFP conversation, but the Longhorns are also carrying plenty of unfinished business into Austin.
No. 11 Texas is 5-2 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, and its season has turned into a weekly balancing act.
The Longhorns have already faced five teams in the current AP Top 25, and three of their wins have come by one score. Even last Saturday’s 34-27 home win over then-No.
7 Ole Miss had some tense stretches attached to it, after Texas let a 21-point halftime lead shrink before hanging on to avoid overtime.
Coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t hide the reality of it.
"It's a dangerous way to live," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We've got to clean this stuff up. We've got to play better, and that's the beauty of winning but not being perfect, is that I get to come in and coach these guys on 'here's where we can get even better.'"
The Longhorns’ issues against Ole Miss weren’t limited to quarterback Arch Manning, who committed three turnovers. The bigger problem was a flood of flags. Texas was penalized 14 times for 134 yards, a season high, with a string of defensive penalties doing real damage.
"What's important for us defensively," Sarkisian said, "is learning how to play with an edge and play with emotion, but not get emotional."
That win snapped a two-game losing streak for Texas, and it also set the stage for a tricky stretch ahead. The Longhorns haven’t played a true road game since Sept. 26, and this will be their last home game before trips to No.
23 Missouri and No. 15 LSU.
Mississippi State showed Texas plenty of trouble a year ago. The Bulldogs were up 31-14 entering the fourth quarter on their home field before the Longhorns stormed back for a 45-38 overtime win.
This time, Mississippi State arrives at 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC after a rough slide. The Bulldogs started 4-0 and reached No. 16 in the rankings, but they’ve dropped three straight, and star quarterback Kamario Taylor has been limited by a toe injury.
Taylor returned from a one-game absence and started last week against Oklahoma, but he didn’t make it through the first quarter. He aggravated the injury and had to limp off, leaving his status for Saturday in doubt.
Jeff Lebby is preparing for that possibility. Redshirt freshman Billy Puckett has stepped in for Taylor and has completed 64 percent of his passes for 368 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
There is also fifth-year transfer AJ Swann, who Lebby said is now as healthy as he’s been all season. Swann has started 18 games across Appalachian State and Vanderbilt before arriving at Mississippi State.
"His maturity and his experience give him something that we don't have in that room right now without Kamario," Lebby said of Swann. "As we go through the week, being able to really evaluate these two guys and who gives us the best opportunity to win the game will ultimately (determine) the decision as we get close to kickoff."
Lebby said that if Taylor can’t play, he won’t expect either backup option to run the offense exactly the same way.
"I've got to put those guys in great position for success and what I've talked to them about all the time is layups," Lebby said. "There's nothing more important when your backup quarterback is playing than to make the layups."
In Other News...
Mississippi State Suddenly Faces A Brutal Kamario Taylor Problem
Mississippi States season has taken a sharp turn in a matter of weeks, and Kamario Taylor sits at the center of it. Across college football, injuries to starting quarterbacks have already altered the path for playoff hopefuls, with Oregon and Ohio State among the teams forced to adjust on the fly. For the Bulldogs, Taylors situation has been especially disruptive because his absence changes not just the depth chart, but the ceiling for what this team can still chase in the stretch run.
The bigger issue is how quickly the situation spiraled. Taylor has been dealing with a toe injury that has hung over multiple games and left Mississippi State trying to manage a quarterback room under constant pressure. Even before the rest of the sports injury chaos reshaped the playoff race, the Bulldogs were already facing the kind of uncertainty that can derail momentum, force schematic changes and make every series feel more fragile than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Is Already Zeroing In On Young Arkansas Playmakers
Mississippi State is wasting little time getting involved with the next wave of talent across the border, and a few of the early names to know are already coming out of Arkansas. The Bulldogs have put offers on the table for 2028 prospects Chase Hancock, Braylyn Brown and Orion Leautu, giving the staff a head start with a group that brings different skill sets but plenty of upside.
Hancock is the kind of athlete teams like to track early because of his speed and versatility, while Leautu brings the type of size and blocking ability that can matter in the trenches and in the passing game. Brown adds another layer as a multi-use player for his high school team, contributing on both offense and defense, which makes him the sort of prospect Mississippi State will want to keep seeing as his recruitment develops. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Heads To Texas With A QB Decision Still Looming
Mississippi State heads into its road trip to Texas still sorting out the most important spot on the field. With Kamario Taylor sidelined for the rest of the season because of injury, Jeff Lebby has spent the week working through a quarterback picture that now features Billy Puckett and A.J. Swann as the main options, with the Bulldogs trying to reset both sides of the ball after a three-game skid.
The timing makes the decision especially tricky, because this is not the kind of environment where an offense can ease into things. Mississippi State needs clarity before Saturday, not just for rhythm at quarterback but for the rest of an offense that has to travel and answer after a rough stretch. However Lebby chooses to go, the Bulldogs are walking into a game that will demand cleaner execution and a quick adjustment from everyone around the new starter. [Read more 🡒]