Texas still has the talent to scare almost anybody on its schedule, but right now that offense looks stuck in mud. That’s what makes Saturday such a dangerous spot for the Longhorns: Ole Miss gets a chance to hit a team already teetering after consecutive losses and push Arch Manning deeper into the pressure cooker.
On paper, the pieces are there for Texas. Manning, Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo and Hollywood Smothers give the Longhorns a skill group that should be able to create problems.
Texas has shown flashes from all of them, even if the 2026 offense has sputtered far too often. The problem is that the production hasn’t matched the talent, and the margin for error is basically gone.
A big part of that mess sits with the structure around Manning. Texas averages 30.2 points per game, but the drives have been too short and too brittle.
The Longhorns have gone three-and-out more than any other team in the SEC, and the current setup under Steve Sarkisian leans on outside runs and play-action in ways that can look almost impossible to trust when the offense can’t stay ahead of the sticks. If the early downs go nowhere, the whole thing starts to unravel fast.
That puts Pete Golding’s Ole Miss defense in the middle of the story. The Rebels don’t need a gimmick to find an edge here.
They just need to make Texas work for every yard, beginning with the run game. The Longhorns have 810 rushing yards through six games, but their ground attack has not been steady against SEC competition.
Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown are the keys to opening up the play-action game, and if Ole Miss takes that away, Manning is left carrying the whole load.
Ole Miss already has a recent example of how that can look. Against Missouri, the Rebels held Jamal Roberts to 39 yards on 20 carries after he had come in off back-to-back 200-yard games.
That kind of control on the line of scrimmage is exactly what Golding will want to see again in Austin. If Texas gets forced into long-yardage situations, it plays right into the weakness that has haunted the Longhorns all season.
That’s where the pressure packages can really bite. Will Echoles, Suntarine Perkins and Luke Ferrelli give Ole Miss a strong core to disrupt Manning.
Echoles can work inside, Perkins can come off the edge or mess with the timing of reads, and Ferrelli leads the Rebels with 39 tackles. Together, they have a chance to attack a Texas offensive line that has already let Manning get sacked 17 times.
The quarterback’s numbers tell the same story. Manning has thrown for 1,295 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions through six games, and he also lost a late fourth-quarter fumble against Florida. That’s the kind of turnover trail that turns every snap into a bigger deal, especially with KJ Lacey waiting in the background and the job chatter getting louder.
Golding does not need to send heat on every down to cause problems. A controlled rush, pressure from the interior and the edge, and tighter coverage behind it could force Manning into rushed decisions before his receivers are ready. The challenge is staying disciplined while still being aggressive enough to make Texas uncomfortable.
That part matters because Manning still has enough arm talent and mobility to punish a defense that overcommits. Sarkisian can also make any defense look foolish when the offense finds its rhythm, especially with motion and shifts designed to stress communication before the snap. Golding has already stressed how important that communication will be against Texas, and one busted assignment could flip the whole game in an instant.
So the setup is simple: Texas is searching for answers, and Ole Miss has the chance to make the questions louder. If the Rebels win at the line of scrimmage and keep Manning under pressure, Saturday could turn into another brutal night for a Longhorns offense that has already spent two weeks trying to find its footing.
In Other News...
Texas Just Lost More Edge Rush Help Before Ole Miss
Texas is heading into its matchup with Ole Miss thinner on the edge than it expected, with defensive end Colin Simmons likely to miss the game because of a high ankle sprain. The Longhorns are also without freshman edge rusher Richard Wesley, who has been ruled out with the same injury and may miss the rest of the regular season.
Wesley had shown some promise in limited work, with seven tackles across four appearances, but now Texas will have to piece together its pass rush without him. For an Ole Miss offense preparing for a major test, the injuries shift even more responsibility onto the other edge players the Longhorns can call on. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Ingram Just Added Fuel To Ole Miss Texas Debate
Mark Ingram has added another voice to the growing chatter around Ole Miss Week 8 matchup with Texas, and his read is simple enough: he likes the Rebels. Speaking on the game, the former Alabama star pointed to Ole Miss strong record and quarterback play as reasons to feel good about their chances, while also noting Texas recent losses and the injury concerns hanging over the Longhorns.
The betting market has already shown how closely this one is being watched, with sentiment around the matchup shifting as kickoff approaches. For Ole Miss, the interest goes beyond a single prediction. A win would not only strengthen the Rebels standing in a major SEC statement game, it would also keep the conversation moving around how real this team is when the spotlight gets brightest. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Has A Huge Opening In Austin If Its Stars Deliver
Ole Miss heads to Austin with a chance to land the kind of road win that can reshape a season, and the setup looks unusually favorable for the Rebels. Texas is coming off consecutive losses and has been dealing with injuries, which has only sharpened the focus on a handful of Ole Miss players who figure to drive the matchup, from offensive lineman Davis up front to defensive playmaker Perkins and running back Kewan Lacy in the backfield.
The opening is there because Texas has stumbled on both sides of the ball, but Ole Miss still has to take advantage of it. A road game like this rarely hands itself over, and if the Rebels are going to turn a big opportunity into something bigger, their top players will have to match the moment in a setting that could end up defining the rest of the year. [Read more 🡒]