Texas lost its lead back to the medical tent in the third quarter against Mississippi State, and the timing only sharpened the conversation around the Longhorns’ backfield.
Hollywood Smothers was helped off the field after taking a hard shot on the play before he exited. A Mississippi State player rolled up on him from behind, and Smothers was then escorted to the sideline and into the medical tent.
By that point, his night had gone nowhere. He had only four touches and had lost six yards on those attempts, a rough line for the runner who was expected to be Texas’s RB1 this season.
While Smothers was dealing with the injury, Raleek Brown kept making his case in a big way as Texas rolled the Bulldogs. Quarterback Arch Manning also continued to show more as a runner, piling up several positive carries of his own.
The bigger picture has been building for a while. Steve Sarkisian brought in both Smothers and Brown through the transfer portal in the offseason, with the idea that they would share snaps. Smothers entered the 2026 season viewed as the team’s top back, but Brown has been the more productive player.
Even before this game, Smothers had already missed two contests because of a lingering lower-leg injury, and Brown had outperformed him when both were available. In five games before the Mississippi State matchup, Smothers had 289 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, plus 79 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Brown, who has played in all eight of Texas’s games, had 422 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Landed In The Arch Manning Rumor Storm
Arch Mannings name is back in the rumor cycle, and this time the speculation is stretching well beyond the usual offseason chatter. Reports around the Texas quarterback have picked up after former ESPN analyst David Pollack said an SEC coach suggested Manning could move on from Texas after the 2026 season, with Georgia mentioned as a possible destination. Other reporting has also connected Manning to Ole Miss, adding another layer to a conversation that has quickly spread across the SEC.
For Texas, the bigger point is not the destination being floated but the fact that Mannings future is suddenly being discussed at all. He has not commented publicly on the rumors and remains committed to the Longhorns for now, but the noise around him is only going to grow as long as outside voices keep attaching his name to other programs. In a sport where quarterback movement can reshape everything, even a stray rumor about a player like Manning is enough to keep people watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Coleman Gave Texas A Spark Then Left Fans Worried
Cam Coleman gave Texas exactly the kind of early burst it needed against Mississippi State, turning two catches into 61 yards and a touchdown before the first half had even settled in. After being listed on the injury report earlier in the week with a shoulder issue from the previous game, he was cleared to play and looked ready to make an immediate impact.
Then came the part that had Longhorns fans watching closely. Coleman was seen heading to the locker room in the second quarter without any obvious injury moment on the field, leaving a jolt of concern after such a promising start and raising fresh questions about his status for the rest of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Defense Suddenly Has A New Mississippi State Problem
Mississippi State is making another quarterback change before facing Texas, with AJ Swann set to start in place of injured starter Kamario Taylor and backup Parker Puckett. For the Longhorns, it adds a fresh layer to a matchup already shaped by uncertainty, because Swann arrives with prior college experience but without any game action yet for Mississippi State.
Texas spent part of the week preparing for one look and now has to account for another, since Swann is expected to bring a different style than Taylor. That kind of late adjustment can matter on defense, especially when a unit has to sort out tendencies on the fly and decide where the real pressure points are going to be. [Read more 🡒]