Ole Miss heads to Austin with a clear edge on one side of the ball and a long list of questions on the other, but Saturday’s matchup with Texas will still come down to a few critical battles.
The Rebels are coming off a 31-3 home pounding of Missouri, while Texas has stumbled into this week after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida. That has left the Longhorns with no margin left if they want to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Ole Miss, though, has to be ready for the kind of urgency Texas will bring inside Memorial Stadium.
One of the biggest swing points is up front, where Trinidad Chambliss could get a much cleaner path than he normally would. Texas sack leader Colin Simmons is out with a high ankle sprain, and his absence changes the feel of this game immediately. Ole Miss has leaned on vertical shots and Chambliss’ ability to create both in the pocket and on the move, and without Simmons pressing off the edge, the Rebels may find more chances to settle in and throw with rhythm.
That does not mean the Texas front is suddenly harmless. Ole Miss’ offensive line still has to do its part and keep the Longhorns from wrecking plays before they even start.
Texas still has other defenders who can get after the quarterback, and the Longhorns will try to squeeze Chambliss into bad decisions and take away the explosive plays that have fueled Ole Miss’ offense. If the Rebels protect him the way they have most of the year, they can control the tempo and let Chambliss keep doing what has made him so valuable.
Kewan Lacy is another central piece of the puzzle, and his health has been a storyline all season. He has played in five of Ole Miss’ six games, but he has also picked up new injuries in more than half of those appearances.
At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, he is not built like a bruiser, and that has shown up in the wear and tear he has taken. Even so, when he is on the field, he changes the offense.
Lacy still went over 100 rushing yards against Missouri despite missing a good chunk of that game, and he also delivered a highlight hurdle over a former teammate. If he can stay available, Ole Miss’ run game has real room to grow.
Texas will make that harder, though. According to Pro Football Network, the Longhorns rank 13th nationally against the run and ninth overall on defense.
Simmons being out helps, but Lacy and the line in front of him will still have a stiff test.
Then there’s the Texas offense, which has not come close to living up to expectations. Outside of the comeback against Ohio State, the Longhorns have struggled to get much going, and Arch Manning has been flat-out bad this season.
With Cam Coleman, the nation’s No. 1 transfer portal player ahead of the 2026 season, in burnt orange, Texas has the kind of receiver talent that should make life easier. But elite pass catchers do not matter much without a quarterback who can deliver.
That leaves KJ Lacey with an expanded role in practice this week as Texas prepares for Ole Miss. Ryan Wingo has actually outproduced Coleman so far, with 26 catches and 345 yards, while Coleman has 3 touchdowns to Wingo’s 6. It gives Texas a dangerous receiver group on paper, but the offense still looks like it is waiting on the quarterback to catch up.
For Ole Miss, that puts the spotlight on a secondary that held up well against Missouri, even with some shakiness from Antonio Kite. The Rebels will have a real chance to measure themselves against one of the country’s most hyped receiving groups, and those one-on-one matchups could go a long way toward deciding whether Ole Miss leaves Austin with another big win.
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 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 🡒]
Ole Miss Gets A Stark Warning Before Playoff-Shaping Texas Test
The buildup to Ole Miss-Texas has only sharpened as the stakes have climbed for both playoff races. Pete Golding has spent the week pointing to what makes Steve Sarkisians team such a difficult matchup, and he made clear the Rebels are preparing for a Texas offense that still has plenty of high-end talent even if the results have not always matched the billing.
Arch Manning is at the center of that conversation, with Golding praising the quarterbacks ability despite recent struggles. There is also a personnel wrinkle worth watching in the Longhorns backfield, where Hollywood Smothers is questionable and Raleek Brown would be expected to carry more of the load if Smothers cannot go, adding another layer of uncertainty to a game both teams badly need. [Read more 🡒]