Texas’ passing game heads into Saturday night with something to prove, and Mississippi State has two cornerbacks ready to make that test a tough one.
The Longhorns have not fully found their rhythm through seven games, sitting 74th in the FBS in passing yards per game at 223.4. That backdrop sets up a 6:30 p.m. ESPN matchup in Austin against a Mississippi State defense that is giving up nearly 28 points a game, but the Bulldogs’ secondary has a couple of difference-makers who can change the feel of the night.
Jett Jefferson and Kelley Jones are Mississippi State’s top two defensive performers by Pro Football Focus grade, with Jefferson at 90.1 and Jones at 80.2. Jones, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound corner who earned preseason All-SEC second-team recognition, already has a Texas moment on his résumé: he picked off a pass in last season’s 45-38 overtime classic, a game the Longhorns survived.
Jones also made clear before the season that he was looking forward to the challenge of matching up with some of the SEC’s best receivers, including Texas’ Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo.
"There's a bunch of great guys out there I'm looking forward to facing like [Alabama's] Ryan Williams, Nick Harbor from South Carolina, guys I haven't faced like Cam Coleman and a guy I've faced in Ryan Wingo," Jones said during his appearance at SEC Media Days in July.
So far this season, Jones has 24 tackles and ranks second in the SEC with seven pass breakups. Jefferson has been even busier, posting 38 tackles while leading the conference with nine passes broken up.
Last year in Starkville, Jones logged three tackles, two pass breakups and the second-quarter interception of Arch Manning. Manning didn’t mince words when asked about him this week.
"He's a really good player," Manning said during his Monday press availability. "He's long, physical, fast. So, we're going to have our hands full with him."
Jones, for his part, remembered his own sideline exchange with Manning from that game at Davis-Wade Stadium.
"He's way bigger than I thought he would be and honestly, he's a great guy," Jones said. "I told him, we have to stop him, because it's going to be a long night if we don't."
Manning still put up big numbers in that game, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns before the interception and then leaving overtime with a concussion. Wingo was the biggest beneficiary for Texas, catching five passes for 184 yards in what stood as the best game of his college career, with two drops keeping him from topping 200.
Wingo is coming off another strong outing now, too. In Texas’ 34-27 win over Mississippi State last Saturday, he posted his second 100-yard receiving game of 2026, finishing with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Jones had plenty to say about Wingo during media days, too.
"He's a great player, he has really good stability and his speed is underrated," Jones said. "He just plays the game and doesn't really trash talk.
He wasn't one of those guys who was trying to do extra, like, push me out of bounds and little things like that. He just goes out and plays."
With Wingo and Coleman on the schedule - pending Coleman’s status after a shoulder injury against the Rebels - Jones had one last line for anyone lining up across from him.
"I mean, welcome to Jones Island," Jones joked.
In Other News...
Texas Fans Wont Like What One Sarkisian Call Revealed
Early in the third quarter against Ole Miss, Steve Sarkisian went to a mesh concept that should have given Texas a clean answer in the passing game. Freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop and fifth-year tight end Michael Masunas were the crossers, but the play never got the rhythm it needed, with timing and spacing breaking down before it could develop.
Arch Mannings footwork also looked off under pressure from the defensive line, and the result was an unsuccessful snap that ended in a three-and-out. For a Texas offense that needs cleaner execution in key moments, it was a small sequence that said plenty about where the unit still has work to do. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Goosby News Leaves Texas Facing A Bigger NFL Reality
Trevor Goosbys season-ending surgery closed the book on one of the more sobering developments in Texas year, but it also underscored how quickly the conversation around his future has shifted from college football to the NFL. The Longhorns left tackle had the procedure performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Daniel Cooper to repair a torn patellar tendon, and the expectation is that he will make a full recovery with no residual effects.
Goosby will miss the rest of the season, leaving Texas to regroup without one of its most highly regarded young blockers. Even with the injury, he remains viewed as a potential top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is part of what makes this setback feel bigger than a single lost year and more like an early reminder of how much is riding on his health going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces A Real Depth Test Against Mississippi State
The Longhorns head into the Mississippi State game with the kind of depth questions that tend to show up only after a team has spent enough time winning to get everyone a little comfortable. Texas has leaned on a growing list of contributors on both sides of the ball, and this matchup brings some of the lesser-known names into sharper view, especially with recent injuries forcing the staff to keep finding answers in the rotation. Michael Terry III, Derrek Cooper, Cam Coleman and Michael Masunas are among the offensive pieces with a chance to matter more, while the defense could need help from Justus Terry, Colton Vasek and Kade Phillips.
For Texas, the challenge is less about chasing a headline and more about proving the roster can absorb hits without losing its edge. The encouraging part is that several of these players have already flashed enough to suggest there is real support behind the starters, and this game offers another chance to turn that into something dependable. Mississippi State may not just test the Longhorns execution, but also how much trust the coaches can place in the next wave of players when the game starts asking harder questions. [Read more 🡒]