Ole Miss heads to Austin with a warning label attached: Texas is wounded, but not harmless.
The No. 7 Rebels have steadied themselves after the 52-28 loss to Florida in Week 4, stacking up two straight wins and following that rough night with a 31-3 rout of No.
13 Missouri. Now comes a different kind of test - one built around a Longhorns team that has already reached desperation mode.
Texas was sitting pretty after its 24-23 comeback over No. 1 Ohio State, but the season has tilted fast.
The Longhorns have dropped two straight, first falling to Oklahoma 27-24 in Week 6 and then getting upset again when Florida went into Austin and won 27-24. Now ranked No.
19, Texas may need to win its final six games to have a real shot at the College Football Playoff.
That makes this one dangerous. Arch Manning and a roster loaded with talent know another loss would only deepen the hole, and Texas has the kind of personnel that can turn ugly nights into momentum in a hurry. The Rebels might even be the best opponent left on the Longhorns’ schedule, which means Saturday carries the kind of urgency that can make a team far more dangerous than its record suggests.
Ole Miss also has its own business to handle away from home. The Rebels have already stumbled on the road this season, so another slip would be a problem for their playoff path, especially with more demanding games still ahead.
Texas entered the year looking like a roster built to overwhelm people. The Longhorns bolstered their backfield with transfer running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, added No. 1 wide receiver Cam Coleman to a group that already included Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley, and expected Manning to deliver a Heisman-caliber season. On defense, players like defensive end Collin Simmons and transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles were supposed to keep the whole operation humming.
Instead, too many of the headline names have underperformed. Brown, Smothers and Manning haven’t delivered at the level Texas expected, and the offense hasn’t been nearly as explosive as it was supposed to be.
That’s what makes this matchup tricky for Ole Miss. A team with this much talent, playing from behind and out of margin for error, can be a bad draw. Texas may not have looked like its best self yet, but the Rebels know they could be catching the Longhorns at exactly the wrong time.
Ole Miss does get one important boost: star running back Kewan Lacy will play against Texas. His absence against Florida left the Rebels’ ground game short of what Golding wanted, and getting him back matters. Add in the fact that the defense just held Missouri to three points, and Saturday could turn into a lower-scoring fight than some might expect.
Still, the message for Ole Miss is simple. Do not mistake Texas’ recent slide for surrender.
The Longhorns are desperate, talented and looking for the kind of game that can snap them back to life. That combination makes them dangerous.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Got A National Vote Of Confidence Before Texas
Ole Miss is heading into the stretch run with plenty of momentum, and it just picked up a notable endorsement from one of the sports most recognizable voices. On the Pat McAfee show, ESPN analyst Rece Davis said he views the Rebels as a legitimate contender in the 2026 college football season, even putting them in the conversation as the SECs second-best team behind Georgia.
That kind of national confidence matters because the schedule only gets more revealing from here, starting with Texas on deck. Ole Miss already has notable wins over LSU, Missouri and Louisville, and the next few weeks will show whether the Rebels can keep stacking those kinds of results as the second half of the season tightens the margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Has A Real Opening Against Texas If One Unit Holds Up
Ole Miss comes into this week riding the lift of a strong win and looking at a Texas team that suddenly has real urgency attached to it. The Longhorns have dropped two straight, and the Rebels know they are getting a defense that still carries a strong reputation overall, even if the matchup has changed a bit with a key piece now unavailable on the edge.
Colin Simmons being out with a high ankle sprain matters because it can alter how much pressure Texas gets on Trinidad Chambliss, and that is where this game could tilt if Ole Miss protects well enough. Kewan Lacy has battled injuries but remains an important part of the Rebels' offense, and if he gives them a steady presence, Ole Miss has a path to make this more uncomfortable for Texas than the rankings would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Gets Rare Vote Of Confidence In Massive Texas Test
Ole Miss is heading into one of its biggest measuring-stick games of the season with an unusual bit of outside optimism attached. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy picked the Rebels to beat Texas, pointing to a Longhorns offensive line that has struggled and the possibility that edge rusher Colin Simmons could be limited by injury, while also noting Ole Miss has the kind of offensive line play that can help it handle a physical road test.
The quarterback situation adds another layer to a matchup already thick with stakes. Steve Sarkisian has hinted at a possible change behind center but still expects Arch Manning to start, and McElroy also pointed out that Texas still brings real defensive strength to the table. For Ole Miss, the challenge is clear: take advantage of the openings that have shown up for Texas while surviving the stretches where the Longhorns can still make life difficult. [Read more 🡒]