No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1 SEC) at No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC). Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. Central), DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, ABC.
Your hosts are Langston Fairbanks, an Ole Miss fan in seersucker who reads Faulkner and Rebel game film in the same sitting, and Caro Whitfield, a Texas fan, former rodeo queen and ex-consultant who values players like assets.
Langston: Madam, you price your players like assets? I prefer to read them like poetry. Let us meet in the fourth quarter.
Caro: Poetry is lovely, darling. I prefer a balance sheet. See you in the fourth quarter.
Players to watch
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has completed 142 of 210 passes for 1,676 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. Receiver Deuce Alexander has 35 catches for 523 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Kewan Lacy has 352 yards and five touchdowns. Linebacker Luke Ferrelli leads with 39 tackles, and Blake Purchase has 3.5 sacks.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning has nearly 1,300 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Defensive end Colin Simmons has 10.5 sacks. Linebacker Rasheem Biles leads with 48 tackles and has two interceptions. Receiver Ryan Wingo has 26 catches for 345 yards. Running back Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers has 289 yards.
Caro: Ten and a half sacks. Darling, that is a premium asset.
What happened last week
Ole Miss beat No. 13 Missouri 31-3 on Homecoming. Chambliss threw three touchdowns and ran for another. Lacy ran 16 times for 122 yards, and Makhi Frazier added 101 yards. Coach Pete Golding said of Chambliss, "He wasn't perfect either, but I'm glad he's on our side".
Texas lost 27-24 to Florida, its second straight three-point loss. Manning went 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a touchdown.
Langston: Thirty-one to three. A short story, beautifully told.
Injuries and availability
The official SEC availability report for this game hasn't been published yet, and no injury news had surfaced for either team as of Oct. 18.
What the coaches are up to
Pete Golding is in his first full season at Ole Miss, hired Nov. 30, 2025. His offense has scored on 100% of its red-zone trips, first in FBS.
Steve Sarkisian has led Texas since 2021. His defense allows 272.5 yards a game, 12th in FBS.
Player storylines
Chambliss against Texas's 12th-ranked pass defense and Simmons's pass rush is the central conflict. Manning should find room against an Ole Miss defense allowing 390 yards a game, which ranks 108th. Opponents convert 44% of third downs against the Rebels. Ole Miss scores fast, holding the ball only 26:59 a game.
What's happening on campus
It's an SEC night game on ABC in the middle of a three-game Texas homestand: Florida, Ole Miss, then Mississippi State on Oct. 31. The kickoff forecast is 85 degrees and partly cloudy. Langston calls it seersucker weather.
Anything else fun and true
This is the ninth meeting between the schools and their first as SEC members. Texas leads the series 6-2. Ole Miss is making its first trip to Austin since 2013. Texas's wins this season include a 24-23 victory over Ohio State. Ole Miss still has No. 1 Georgia ahead, and four of its last five games are at home.
Caro: Six and two, darling. That's a sturdy portfolio, and I don't sell in October.
Langston: Every great novel has a twist in the final chapter, Caro. Mr. Faulkner would want me to remind you that the past is never dead. It isn't even past.
The Cover Window
My call: Texas Longhorns 29, Ole Miss Rebels 25.