Kirk Herbstreit didn’t wait long to make his point about Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
On College GameDay, the ESPN analyst called Chambliss the best quarterback in the country just hours before the No. 7 Rebels head into Austin for a 7:30 p.m.
ET kickoff on ABC against a No. 19 Texas team trying to save its season.
“Here comes Trinidad Chambliss, who we haven’t even really talked about, and he’s the best quarterback in the country,” Herbstreit said.
The comment fit the way Herbstreit has talked about Chambliss for months. During the preseason, he identified the Ferris State transfer as the next face of college football, and earlier this month on his Nonstop podcast he said, “There’s Trinidad Chambliss, who I would probably take over everybody.”
Chambliss backed up that kind of praise in 2025, throwing for 3,937 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions while leading Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
This season, the Grand Rapids, Michigan, native has stayed on that same track. He has completed 142 of 210 passes for 1,676 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he has added six rushing scores.
Last week, he accounted for four touchdowns in Ole Miss’ 31-3 win over then-No. 13 Missouri, and Rebels coach Pete Golding kept his praise in check afterward.
“He wasn’t perfect either, but I’m glad he’s on our side,” Golding said.
Texas is walking into the matchup under real pressure. The Longhorns have dropped back-to-back 27-24 games to Oklahoma and Florida, and Herbstreit made clear how little room he believes they have left.
“This is Texas backed into a corner after two 3-point losses. Everything’s at stake,” he said.
Two days after the Florida loss, Herbstreit had already sounded the alarm on his Monday show. “To me, their wiggle room is over.”
He also wondered aloud whether Texas coach Steve Sarkisian would consider a change at quarterback if the game turns sour early. “If you get down 7-nothing, 10-nothing, at what point, if it goes that way, if you’re Sark, do you go to KJ Lacey, who’s a very talented, Bryce Young kind of guy?” Herbstreit asked.
Arch Manning has thrown for 1,295 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions and has been sacked 17 times. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Monday that redshirt freshman KJ Lacey Jr., a former Alabama Mr.
Football from Saraland, would get more first-team reps this week. But Sarkisian stuck with Manning at his weekly press conference.
“Arch can play better for us. He’s our starter. I need to see a better version of Arch Manning,” Sarkisian said.
Ole Miss’ quarterback will also be working behind an offense that has protected him well. Chambliss has taken only five sacks, while Texas will be without edge rusher Colin Simmons and Richard Wesley. That leaves defensive lineman Maraad Watson, who has three, as the only Longhorn with more than one sack.
After this game, Texas still has a long road ahead: Mississippi State comes next, then trips to No. 22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU, followed by home games against Arkansas and a regular-season finale at Texas A&M.
In Other News...
Texas Escaped Ole Miss But A Bigger Arch Manning Concern Remains
Texas kept finding trouble early and resilience late, turning another shaky outing into a 34-27 win over Ole Miss after once again coughing up a double-digit lead. For the third straight game, the Longhorns watched an advantage slip away, only to answer in the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive that steadied things just enough to leave Austin with a victory.
Arch Manning did enough to keep Texas in front, throwing for 171 yards and scoring twice on the ground, including the go-ahead run. Even with the win, the broader concern lingers for Texas: the offense still has to prove it can sustain control for four quarters, and Ole Miss nearly forced the issue at the end before an interception in the end zone preserved the result. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Coach Is Still Explaining The Choices Texas Made Hurt
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding spent the aftermath of the Texas game doing what coaches often have to do after a close loss: explaining the calls that looked bold in the moment and costly in hindsight. A late 58-yard field goal attempt was his choice because he believed the game was still within reach, even with the risk attached, and the kick was blocked before Texas answered with a field goal of its own to widen the gap.
Golding also revisited an earlier fourth-down decision late in the second quarter, saying he regretted passing up a short field goal there instead of chasing the conversion. For Texas, those two moments helped shape a win that never really let Ole Miss off the hook, while Golding is left weighing whether the aggressive approach helped his team or handed the Longhorns extra breathing room. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Kept Its CFP Hopes Alive But Exposed A Bigger Problem
Texas kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 34-27 win over Ole Miss, but the game also laid bare how much cleaning up remains. The Longhorns had to fight through turnovers, penalties and injuries to key players Cam Coleman and Trevor Goosby, then lean on a defense that picked off Trinidad Chambliss three times to survive a volatile night.
Raleek Brown gave Texas the kind of ground production it needed with 157 rushing yards, and Arch Manning helped steady things by accounting for both a passing touchdown and a rushing score. Even with the win in hand, the bigger picture lingers for Texas: this was the sort of performance that can keep a postseason path open while also reminding everyone how fragile it still looks. [Read more 🡒]