Ole Miss opens as underdog against Texas

Vegas oddsmakers are giving Texas a slight nod with the Ole Miss Rebels traveling to Austin on Saturday.

Odds opened with a three point spread in favor of the Longhorns (4-2, 1-2 SEC) who are coming off a loss to Florida in week seven. The Rebels (5-1, 3-1 SEC) also lost to Florida roughly a few weeks ago, but Ole Miss has rebounded in a huge way with back to back blowout wins over Vanderbilt and Missouri.

This game will be an unusual sight with Arch Manning whose family name is synonymous with Ole Miss being under center for the Longhorns. Head coach Pete Golding will need another stellar effort from his defense on the road for Ole Miss to get its third win in a row.

Currently, Ole Miss has a strong resume for the season with three top 25 wins (Louisville, LSU and Missouri), more than any other team nationally. Texas, meanwhile, has signature wins over Ohio State and Tennessee but are on a two game losing streak with both losses coming down to a field goal.

Again, it is another potential college football playoff elimination game. Neither team can afford another loss although the picture for the postseason is increasingly looking like a 9-3 team could sneak into the final spot, and neither of these teams wants to be sweating a selection committee.

Additionally, there’s the SEC championship race shaping up with Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss as the four teams with only one loss. Ole Miss only plays Georgia out of that group meaning every game from here on out could move the Rebels closer to an appearance in Atlanta at the SEC Championship Game.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said in his postgame presser that everything was going to be evaluated in his program for the second half of the season. It seems like a huge get right game at home for the Longhorns with a ton of pressure and implications for the season. Based on my hurried research this morning, Texas has not lost three games in a row since 2021.