No. 7 Ole Miss travels to Austin to face No. 19 Texas on Saturday, with the Ole Miss vs Texas Week 8 matchup carrying weight for both programs’ College Football Playoff hopes. The Rebels (5-1) arrive off a 31-3 blowout of Missouri, while the Longhorns (4-2) have dropped back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Florida after opening the season as the nation’s No. 1 team. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, and the biggest question is whether Texas can slow down an Ole Miss offense averaging 37.5 points per game.
Ole Miss Vs Texas Game Information
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 24
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
- TV: ABC
- Series note: First meeting between the two programs since 2013
How Did Texas Fall Out Of The Top Spot?
Texas held the No. 1 ranking two weeks ago before losing consecutive games to Oklahoma and an unranked Florida team, 27-24 in both contests, according to Sports Illustrated. Those back-to-back setbacks dropped the Longhorns to No. 19 heading into the matchup with Ole Miss. The slide was part of a broader shakeup across the sport, as five of the top seven teams in the AP poll lost on the same afternoon in Week 7, the first time that has happened in the poll’s 90-year history, per CBS Sports.
Is Colin Simmons Available For Texas?
Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons leads the nation with 10.5 sacks, but his status for Saturday is unclear after he was carted off during the loss to Florida, according to CBS Sports. No further update on his availability has been reported, leaving his presence against an Ole Miss offensive line that has allowed just five sacks all season as one of the lingering questions entering the week.
Who Has The Edge At Quarterback?
Trinidad Chambliss has been described as the SEC‘s top individual playmaker at quarterback by CBS Sports, and he threw for three touchdowns in the win over Missouri. Through six games he has completed 142 of 210 passes for 1,676 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions while taking only five sacks. Texas counters with Arch Manning, who has thrown for 1,295 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions on 106-of-166 passing. Sporting News noted the quarterback matchup is drawing attention as both passers are part of the 2027 NFL Draft conversation.
What Do The Season Numbers Say?
- Points per game: Ole Miss 37.5, Texas 30.2
- Total yards per game: Ole Miss 444.5, Texas 362.3
- Passing yards per game: Ole Miss 290.7, Texas 226.3
- Rushing yards per game: Ole Miss 153.8, Texas 136.0
- Third-down conversion rate: Ole Miss 47.22%, Texas 41.67%
- Sacks allowed (season total): Ole Miss 5, Texas 17
- Takeaways (season total): Ole Miss 7, Texas 9
- Giveaways (season total): Ole Miss 8, Texas 8
- Yards per pass attempt: Ole Miss 8.0, Texas 7.8
Ole Miss Outlook
Ole Miss enters at 5-1 with its only loss coming at Florida, 52-28. Since then, the Rebels have responded with wins over Vanderbilt (52-17) and Missouri (31-3), the latter featuring three touchdown passes from Chambliss. Ole Miss averages 6.52 yards per play through six games and scored over 40 points in each of its first two contests this season, while posting a 35.75-point scoring average in conference play.
The Rebels also feature four receivers averaging more than three receptions per game, led by Deuce Alexander’s 35 catches for 523 yards and five touchdowns, and a pair of running backs averaging more than 5 yards per carry, with Kewan Lacy leading the group at 352 yards and five scores on 62 attempts. Chambliss’ five sacks allowed all season reflect an offensive line that has given him time to find that spread of targets.
Texas Outlook
Texas sits at 4-2 after wins over then-No. 1 Ohio State (24-23), UTSA (30-6) and Tennessee (20-17) to open the year, before back-to-back 27-24 losses to Oklahoma and Florida. Manning’s top target has been Ryan Wingo, who has 26 catches for 345 yards and three touchdowns, while Hollywood Smothers leads the ground game with 289 yards and two touchdowns on 65 carries. Texas has allowed 17 sacks this season, more than triple Ole Miss’s total, a gap that could matter if Simmons is unable to generate the same pressure Texas’s defense has relied on. The Longhorns’ defense has forced nine takeaways against eight giveaways for a plus-one turnover margin, compared to Ole Miss’s minus-one differential.
Key Matchup: Ole Miss Offensive Line Vs Texas Pass Rush
The central question of the game may come down to whether Texas can pressure Chambliss the way Simmons has pressured quarterbacks all season. Simmons’ 10.5 sacks lead the nation, but Ole Miss has surrendered only five sacks in six games, the fewest margin on either side of this matchup. If Simmons is limited or unavailable, Texas’s pass rush loses its most disruptive piece against an offensive line that has protected Chambliss well enough for him to average 8.0 yards per attempt.
Former Alabama assistant Pete Golding, now Ole Miss’s defensive coordinator, praised Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s playcalling ahead of the matchup. “Obviously I spent a lot of time with Sark at Alabama. A lot of respect for him, I think he’s one of the best playcallers in the country and it’s not close,” Golding said, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think somehow it’s been lost that they beat the No. 1 team in the country and they were the No. 1 team in the country at some point.”
Players To Watch
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss
Chambliss has thrown 14 touchdowns against four interceptions while taking just five sacks, numbers that have fueled wins over nationally ranked LSU and Missouri this season.
Colin Simmons, Edge, Texas
Simmons’ nation-leading 10.5 sacks make him the player most likely to disrupt Ole Miss’s offensive rhythm, but his health after being carted off against Florida remains unresolved.
Deuce Alexander, WR, Ole Miss
Alexander leads the Rebels with 35 receptions for 523 yards and five touchdowns, anchoring a receiving corps with four players averaging more than three catches per game.
What To Watch
Ole Miss arrives in Austin with momentum after its blowout of Missouri, while Texas is trying to halt a two-game slide that cost it the No. 1 ranking. The outcome carries postseason stakes for both sides as the College Football Playoff picture takes shape, and it marks the programs’ first meeting since 2013. Ole Miss’s next game and Texas’s next matchup will follow this Week 8 contest, with both teams looking to manage the stretch run of SEC play.
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