Pete Golding didn’t spend much time dancing around the challenge waiting for Ole Miss in Austin. On Monday, the Rebels’ first-year head coach called Texas “elite” and pointed to “bad luck” as a major reason the Longhorns haven’t fully cashed in on the talent around them.
That was the tone Golding struck ahead of Saturday’s trip to Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium, where Ole Miss will walk into the kind of atmosphere he expects to be loud, tense and fully tuned into the stakes. It’s a top 25 matchup with playoff implications, and Golding made clear he expects the Longhorn crowd to feel every bit of it.
Texas, he said, has already shown what it can do with the win over Ohio State. He also pointed to the Longhorns’ former No. 1 ranking, their elite quarterback Arch Manning and the fact that things have not quite broken their way on some plays. In Golding’s view, the combination of timely drops and Steve Sarkisian’s play-calling makes Texas one of the nation’s best teams.
For Ole Miss, the defensive formula is straightforward. Golding said his group has to stay ahead of the chains, force Texas into obvious passing downs and create the kind of situations that give the Rebels a real shot to control the game. He said he expects Sarkisian to lean on the run first and use play-action to build from there.
Golding also addressed the running back situation, saying Kewan Lacy’s shoulder injury will continue to be managed this week. That means more rotation work for Makhi Frazier and JT Lindsey. Lacy, who is from Texas and grew up rooting for the Longhorns, wanted to play this week and get back on the field, Golding said.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fans Now Wait For What Comes Next With AJ Maddox
Ole Miss is waiting on another off-field matter after junior backup quarterback AJ Maddox was arrested Tuesday morning in Lafayette County on a simple domestic violence charge, according to the sheriffs department. Maddox was booked on an allegation that he attempted, by physical menace, to put a domestic victim in fear of imminent serious bodily harm, and no bond amount has been disclosed.
For the Rebels, the timing adds another layer of uncertainty around a player who sits behind the starting quarterback but still occupies an important spot on the roster. What happens next will now fall to the school and the legal process, leaving Ole Miss fans watching for any response from the program and any further details from the case. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Suddenly Has A Real Opening In The Playoff Race
The 12-team College Football Playoff has already changed the way the sport feels, and this season has only sharpened the edge of that reality. Instead of one or two programs separating from the pack, college football has been a weekly shuffle of contenders, with teams like Boise State, Indiana, Miami and Ole Miss all moving through a landscape where no one has yet taken clear control in 2026.
For the Rebels, that chaos is more opportunity than obstacle. Ole Miss has put itself in position to matter in the playoff race, and the broader picture around the SEC suggests the path to a national title bid may be more open than usual. The hard part, as always, is turning a favorable setup into something lasting, especially with so much of the season still waiting to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Can Push Texas To The Brink This Weekend
Texas arrives in Oxford under real pressure after back-to-back losses to unranked opponents, and the timing of this Week 8 matchup could hardly be more awkward. The No. 19 Longhorns now get a visit from No. 7 Ole Miss in what has quickly become a defining test for Steve Sarkisians program, with former coach Urban Meyer going so far as to call it the most important game of Sarkisians career.
For Texas, the stakes go beyond one Saturday in October. Another loss would deepen the damage to a season that was supposed to carry College Football Playoff expectations, and it would only sharpen the scrutiny on a team that entered the year with far bigger ambitions. From Ole Miss side, it is a chance to keep the pressure high and potentially turn a talented opponents season into something far more complicated. [Read more 🡒]