AUSTIN— To avoid the program's first three-game losing streak since 2021, the No. 19 Texas Longhorns need to beat the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
That will require a better performance from Texas senior quarterback Arch Manning, who is in danger of getting benched if he struggles early in the game , the type of decision that head coach Steve Sarkisian rarely makes with his starter.
Two players came off the pregame injury report for Texas — sophomore offensive lineman Jackson Christian (questionable) and freshman running back Derrek Cooper (probable) — but junior safety Kobe Black was added as a game-time decision.
Black came out dressed for pregame warmups, but was taking backup reps to senior Derek Williams, who was elevated to a co-starter with Black on the official depth chart.
With junior edge Colin Simmons and freshman edge Richard Wesley both out, Texas listed sophomore Lance Jackson as the starter at Jack end with senior Colton Vasek as his backup. At the defensive end position, sophomore Justus Terry is backing up junior Zina Umeozulu.
Ole Miss won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, a touchback.
On a toss play, Texas senior linebacker Justin Cryer flashed his range with a tackle at the line of scrimmage before quarterback Trinidad Chambliss misfired out of bounds while rolling to his right. Quickly under pressure on 3rd and 10 as the Longhorns brought a cornerback blitz, Chambliss was flushed from the pocket and had to throw the ball away.
Texas took over at its own 26-yard line after a 49-yard punt. A run by fifth-year running back Raleek Brown netted six yards off the right edge, then a glance route run-pass option to junior wide receiver Cam Coleman for 12 yards. Manning had the answer to the blitz that Ole Miss brought on the next play, connecting with junior wide receiver Emmett Mosley V on a slant for a 23-yard catch and run. A short completion to junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo and a run by Brown moved the chains, then fifth-year tight end Michael Masunas made his first catch of the season on his first target for a nine-yard gain. A carry by sophomore running back Michael Terry III was stopped for a two-yard loss, but Manning secured another first down with a designed run that picked up six yards. The drive stalled after two runs by Brown were stopped for short gains and Manning was flushed from the pocket under duress on 3rd and goal from the 5-yard line and failed to hit Wingo in the end zone on a ball batted down in the end zone. Texas settled for a 23-yard field goal to end the 12-play, 69-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock.
After a touchback on the kickoff, the Rebels started their drive with two quick throws, one dropped for a three-yard gain by senior cornerback Warren Roberson and the other securing the first down, but Roberson and Williams were unable to make tackles on the next throw by Chambliss when speedy wide receiver Deuce Alexander got loose for 36 yards. Back-to-back runs by Kewan Lacy were stopped for no gain, forcing Ole Miss to convert 3rd and 10 to keep the drive alive. Another pressure package dialed up by Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, a blitz timed up well by senior linebacker Rasheem Biles, forced Chambliss to throw quickly and Alexander never found the football. The Rebels kicked a 46-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
With freshman running back Derrek Cooper into the game after the touchback, Wingo was called for a hold on a screen pass to freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop that negated a six-yard gain. Back to the screen game, Mosley picked up six yards, then a swing pass to Cooper gained seven yards on a play that ended with senior left tackle Trevor Goosby down on the field after he went down while pass blocking. Goosby hobbled onto the cart to leave the field. On 3rd and 7, Manning targeted Mosley on an out-breaking route and it was intercepted on a busted coverage by Ole Miss that saw two defensive backs cover Mosley and leave Wingo wide open.
The defense responded to the sudden-change situation when Cryer came up with an interception, the first turnover forced by Texas since the first play of the UTSA game.
Looking for a shot play on his own sudden change, Sarkisian dialed up a max protection deep over route for Coleman, who was open on a perfect delivery by Manning, but dropped the would-be touchdown reception, leading to a three and out when Terry ran for two yards and the Texas quarterback had his third-down pass attempted knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
The Texas run defense stuffed Lacy on two runs to start the drive, which ended after three plays when Chambliss wasn't on the same page as Alexander.
Senior Ryan Niblett returned the Ole Miss punt eight yards to 40-yard line, then caught a screen pass behind a hold from Masunas, putting Texas behind the chains. A good play design by Sarkisian running Wingo out into the flat behind the offensive line produced a 43-yard catch and run by the speedster.
The offense maintained the momentum when Brown found a cut back on outside zone, found a crease, and ran over an Ole Miss defender to finish the 23-yard gain near the goal line.
Into a jumbo package, the Longhorns forced the Rebels to call a timeout, then opted for a spread look with Manning keeping a zone read and scoring from two yards out behind a block from Masunas for a 10-3 lead.
A slant to Alexander behind a rub route converted a third down for Ole Miss and ended the first quarter.
The first pass of the second quarter by Chambliss was deflected by Cryer and nearly intercepted and the second was thrown away under pressure by Biles. The third was ruled intentional grounding when it appeared that Chambliss and Alexander weren't on the same page.
A shanked punt that only traveled 32 yards allowed Texas to take over at its 39-yard line on a drive that began with Manning throwing incomplete trying to target sophomore tight end Emaree Winston down the field after leaving the pocket, an inaccurate pass to an open player. When a screen pass to Bishop lost two yards and junior right guard Brandon Baker was called for a false start, the Longhorns had to convert 3rd and 17, but the Rebels made the mistake playing man coverage and Manning took advantage by scrambling up the middle for 19 yards.
Another screen pass, this time to Wingo, was dropped for another loss, but Manning responded by connecting with Wingo on a post route for a 50-yard touchdown on a perfectly-thrown pass.
Lacy pushed the ball for six yards on first down, but Chambliss had to throw it away yet again on second down and had his third-down pass attempt knocked down by senior edge/linebacker Brad Spence, forcing a punt returned 16 yards by Niblett.
Brown's first-down carry was dropped for a three-yard loss when Baker pulled, but couldn't sustain his block. The timing of the 2nd and 13 play was thrown off when Manning mishandled the shotgun snap trying to throw a screen pass, turning into a 15-yard gain on a roughing the passer penalty. An end around to Wingo gained nine yards, and the six-yard run by Brown had another 15 yards tacked on for a face-mask penalty.
Pressure on Manning resulted in a high throw targeting Bishop along the sideline, falling incomplete. On second down, Manning was able to navigate the pocket more successfully, finding Masunas for a 10-yard gain. The penalty problems continued for Ole Miss as Manning looked for Wingo in the end zone. The pass-interference penalty moved the ball down to the 2-yard line as Texas brought out the jumbo package again and Terry ran behind Winston for a touchdown, the first of his career. The Longhorns were so dominant at the point of attack that Winston wasn't even able to find much work.
A good tackle by senior safety Jelani McDonald brought down Lacy for a three-yard gain. A six-yard run on second down set up 3rd and 1, a direct snap to Lacy, who was tackled behind the line of scrimmage by Williams and sophomore nickel back Graceson Littleton. Texas declined a penalty on Ole Miss for blocking below the waist and Ole Miss punted it away to Niblett, who fair caught it at the Texas 25-yard line.
Brown opened the drive with two runs of three yards, setting up a manageable 3rd and 4 that got less manageable after a false start on fifth-year center Connor Robertson. Sarkisian tried a screen to Wingo, who was able to find some space, but came up two yards short of the first down, sending the punt team onto the field.
When Alexander didn't field the punt, Mac Chiumento got a friendly bounce for a 51-yard effort.
Backed up, Ole Miss went empty on second down and Williams got isolated on former Texas wide receiver Johntay Cook, who wasn't able to come up with the catch on a catchable throw by Chambliss. Sophomore cornerback Kade Phillips wasn't able to get home on a cornerback blitz, but Spence made a good tackle along the sideline.
The Rebels were able to execute a successful fake punt when the Longhorns didn't account for the punter taking off and running for a 17-yard gain.
A check down to the running back gained two yards led to a big gain on second down when Williams and McDonald both fit the play wrong on Counter, producing a 34-yard gain. Two players later, the Longhorns were called for two personal foul penalties as the game went into the two-minute warning, moving the ball down to the 5-yard line instead of forcing the Rebels to convert a 3rd and 3 at the edge of the red zone.
Ole Miss gave five of those yards back on a false start before Lacy was stopped for a two-yard gain, leading Sarkisian to use his first timeout with 1:52 remaining in the second quarter. A second direct snap to Lacy worked better, producing a three-yard gain to set up 3rd and goal from the 5-yard line after Texas called its second timeout. Running up the middle, Lacy made it to the 2-yard line before the final timeout was called by the Horns. Going for it on fourth down, Ole Miss called its own final timeout after getting a look at the Texas defensive alignment, then called a fake screen that was intercepted by Biles, his third of the season, after Chambliss was slow to throw it.
It was the first time that the Rebels failed to score in the red zone this season , having notched 21 touchdowns on 24 drives.
Needing to get the ball off the goal line, Brown found room around the edge, but Masunas was called for holding to further limit the space to get the play off. A sneak by Manning created enough space to end the half kneeling it out and taking the ball to start the second half up 24-3.
The third quarter got off to a poor start for Texas after Kosi Okpala picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the kickoff for striking an Ole Miss player in the helmet after the touchback and Coleman injured his left shoulder trying to catch a play-action pass from Manning. The Longhorns did have a short-yardage opportunity on third down after a four-yard screen pass to Wingo and a five-yard penalty on the Rebels, concerted by Terry on a two-yard run.
Things veered sharply back in the other direction when backup senior left tackle Trevor Goosby was beat badly on a pass rush that resulted in Manning fumbling and Ole Miss scoring on the recovery.
