Mississippi State at Texas Preview

The call

Texas owns the defense, the home field and the healthier roster — and Mississippi State has now lost Kamario Taylor for the season to foot surgery. That is the whole game.

Projected final

13—35

Texas by 22

The Longhorns allow 19.1 points and 4.2 yards per play, and Mississippi State confirmed on Tuesday that Taylor will miss the rest of the season for surgery on his injured toe — the Bulldogs have scored 15 total points with Parker Puckett at quarterback over their last three games. The models cluster at Texas by 15–18 and the market still sits at −20.5, but with Taylor definitively out rather than a kickoff decision, Texas now clears the number despite its own injury list, headlined by Trevor Goosby’s season-ending knee injury.

Why it lands there

01Taylor is done for the season. Mississippi State confirmed Tuesday he will miss the rest of 2026 for surgery on the toe injury he re-aggravated against Oklahoma. Lebby said Wednesday he will not name a starter until game day: Puckett (368 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT in relief this season) and AJ Swann — the healthiest he has been all season — split first-team work, and Horns247 sources expect the veteran Swann to get the start.
02Texas defends the pass; MSU doesn’t. The Longhorns allow 178.1 passing yards per game with six interceptions. The Bulldogs allow 267.4 per game, a 67.2% completion rate and have picked off two passes all season.
03The Texas ground game just woke up. Raleek Brown ran for 157 yards and Texas for 207 against Ole Miss, with Hollywood Smothers out. Mississippi State allows 124.6 rushing yards per game.
04Turnovers have buried the Bulldogs. Mississippi State is −4 with 52 points allowed off turnovers against 24 scored. Texas is also negative (−3), which is the main thing that can keep Texas from running away with it.

Texas by 16.9SP+ projection (Texas +20.4, MSU +6.0)

Texas by 18.0ESPN FPI projection; Sagarin: Texas by 15.0

40–17Clarion Ledger game-week pick: Texas

38–31SEC Scouts: Texas

Sources: Models via The Sports Wire, FanDuel line via Hook’em Headlines, Clarion Ledger, SEC Scouts

Position by position

Each offense is matched against the defense it will actually see. Filter by position group, or scan all eight. Season figures run through Week 8 (Oct. 24 games included).

Mississippi State QB vs Texas pass D

Texas

Parker Puckett / AJ Swann (Taylor out for season)

Taylor comp.65.4%

Taylor yards / att.9.2

Taylor TD–INT17–4

Puckett64.1% · 1–2

Texas coverage

Pass yds allowed178.1/g

Comp. allowed58.5%

INT6

Pass TD allowed6

Read: A healthy Taylor (243.3 passing yards per game, 172.8 efficiency) would have been the best player in this game — but he is out for the season after Tuesday’s confirmation that his toe injury requires surgery. Whoever starts — Lebby will not name Puckett or Swann until game day — faces a Texas defense that just intercepted Trinidad Chambliss three times, the last by Jelani McDonald in the end zone on the final play. This edge is now large.

Mississippi State · Texas · Ole Miss–Texas box · Taylor injury

Texas QB vs Mississippi State pass D

Texas · moderate

Arch Manning

Comp.63.3%

Yards / att.7.7

Pass yards1,507

TD–INT12–7

Mississippi State coverage

Pass yds allowed267.4/g

Comp. allowed67.2%

Yards / att. allowed7.6

INT2

Read: Manning was 18-of-30 for 212 yards with a 50-yard touchdown to Ryan Wingo against Ole Miss — and two interceptions plus a strip-sack fumble that became a Rebels touchdown. The opportunity is real: Mississippi State has allowed 15 passing touchdowns and intercepted two passes in seven games. So is the self-inflicted risk.

Texas · Mississippi State · Manning vs Ole Miss

Mississippi State RBs vs Texas front

Texas · slight

Bulldogs rushing

Bothwell91 att · 514 yds

Bothwell / carry5.6

Team yards / game175.0

Team / carry4.7

Texas front

Allowed / game107.3

Allowed / carry3.0

Rush TD allowed4 in 6 gms*

Sacks19

Read: Fluff Bothwell is Mississippi State’s most reliable healthy weapon — 111 yards on 17 carries against Oklahoma was the Bulldogs’ best Week 8 sign, and his 85.7 yards per game lead the team. Texas’s 3.0 yards per carry allowed is the stiffest test he has faced since Alabama. *Rush TD allowed through Week 7.

Mississippi State · Texas · Oklahoma–MSU box

Texas RBs vs Mississippi State front

Texas

Longhorns rushing

Brown84 att · 422 yds · 5.0

Brown vs Ole Miss23 att · 157 yds

Smothers65 att · 289 yds

Team yards / game145.3

Mississippi State front

Allowed / game124.6

Allowed / carry3.7

Team TFL35

Team sacks16

Read: Texas ran for a season-best-in-SEC-play 207 yards against Ole Miss behind Brown’s 47- and 28-yard bursts, and that was without Hollywood Smothers, who sat out Week 8, was listed as probable on Wednesday’s availability report and was removed from the report entirely on Thursday — cleared to play. Mississippi State’s front is respectable, not dominant — Oklahoma just ran for 184 on it. The Bulldogs will also be without starting linebacker Jalen Smith for the rest of the season: Lebby confirmed on Oct. 26 that Smith had surgery for the injury he suffered against Alabama, and Fatt Forrest has started the last two games in his place. Mississippi State’s run defense thinned further on Friday’s report, which downgraded starting linebacker Tyler Lockhart (48 tackles, 2 sacks) from questionable to doubtful.

Texas · Mississippi State · Ole Miss recap · Smith season-ending / Taylor update

Mississippi State WR/TE vs Texas DBs

Texas · slight

Primary targets

Evans III53 · 647 · 5 TD

Magee22 · 360 · 6 TD

Ragins14 · 209 · 4 TD

Longhorn DBs

McDonaldGame-sealing INT vs Ole Miss

Biles2 INT*

Team178.1 yds/g · 6 INT

Read: Anthony Evans III (92.4 receiving yards per game) and Sanfrisco Magee (16.4 per catch, team-high six receiving TDs) can win one-on-one. The problem is delivery: with Taylor now out for the season and Puckett delivering, this group saw 121 passing yards at LSU and 186 against Oklahoma. *Biles interceptions through Week 7.

Mississippi State · Texas

Texas WR/TE vs Mississippi State DBs

Texas · moderate

Primary targets

Wingo vs Ole Miss7 · 111 · 1 TD

ColemanShoulder · cleared Thu.

Mosley V292 rec. yds*

Bulldog DBs

Jefferson9 PD

Jones7 PD

Team267.4 yds/g · 2 INT

Read: Ryan Wingo’s 111-yard night against Ole Miss is the template, and Mississippi State’s secondary breaks up passes (33 team PD) without finishing them. Cam Coleman’s shoulder injury — he left the Ole Miss game on its first third-quarter play and did not return — is the one thing that can shrink this edge. Oct. 26 reporting said the injury is not expected to be severe, he practiced Monday without a non-contact jersey (247Sports’ Chip Brown), Wednesday’s availability report listed him as probable, and Thursday’s report removed him entirely — cleared to play. *Mosley receiving yards through Week 7.

Ole Miss recap · Mississippi State · Texas injuries

Mississippi State OL vs Texas DL

Texas · slight

Bulldogs protection

Sacks allowed21

TFL allowed41

Vs Oklahoma4 sacks allowed

Texas pressure

Team sacks19

Simmons10.5 sacks · 16 TFL*

Vs Ole Miss0 sacks, Simmons out

Read: On paper Texas wins this: Mississippi State has allowed three sacks a game, and Colin Simmons personally owns more than half of Texas’s sack total. In practice, Simmons (ankle) missed the Ole Miss game and Texas recorded zero sacks without him; after moving from questionable Wednesday to doubtful Thursday, Friday’s (Oct. 30) availability report downgraded him again to out — he will miss a second straight game. That break for Mississippi State’s backup quarterback is now confirmed, not conditional. *Simmons totals through Week 7.

Mississippi State · Texas · Ole Miss recap

Texas OL vs Mississippi State DL

Mississippi State · slight

Texas protection

Sacks allowed19

Goosby (LT)Out for season · knee

ReplacementAndre Cojoe

Mississippi State pressure

Team sacks16

Bledsoe2.5 sacks · 5.5 TFL

Whitson2.0 sacks · 3.5 TFL

Read: The Bulldogs’ one trench edge is no longer circumstantial: preseason All-American left tackle Trevor Goosby was carted off in the first quarter against Ole Miss, and on Sunday ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported he will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Senior Andre Cojoe, who gave up a sack in relief against Ole Miss, is now the starter. Mississippi State’s pressure is spread thin — no Bulldog has more than 2.5 sacks — but a backup left tackle against a fresh front is where MSU can manufacture the negative plays its offense needs.

Texas · Mississippi State · Goosby / Coleman injuries · Goosby out for season

Possession pressure

Neither team protects its margin. Mississippi State’s giveaways have simply cost far more: opponents have turned them into 52 points, the hidden engine of the Bulldogs’ three-game slide.

Mississippi State margin−4

10 giveaways · 6 takeaways

Texas margin−3

11 giveaways · 8 takeaways

Points allowed off MSU turnovers52

Against just 24 scored off takeaways

Texas interceptions6

Three against Ole Miss in Week 8 alone

What remains open: Both quarterbacks are live turnover risks. Manning gave it away three times against Ole Miss (two interceptions, one strip-sack returned for a touchdown), and a hobbled Taylor turned it over three times at Alabama before the injury shut him down. Texas has scored 21 points off turnovers and allowed 27; whichever quarterback plays cleanest likely decides whether this is a two-score game or a fourth-quarter one.

Official Mississippi State statistics · Official Texas statistics · Ole Miss–Texas box score

Field goals & field position

Both kickers have one miss all season and a 52-yard make. The separator is punting and chaos: Mississippi State nets 38.6 yards a punt, and Texas just survived an onside-kick recovery and needed a blocked 58-yard field goal to close out Ole Miss.

Mississippi State · Kyle Ferrie

7/887.5%
Long 52

20–292/3

30–393/3

40–491/1

50+1/1

PAT25/25

Pulliam punt avg. / net40.4 / 38.6

Official team stats

Texas · Gianni Spetic

11/1291.7%
Long 52

Vs Ole Miss2/2 (23, 33)

PAT26/26

Red-zone scoring (team)26/28 · 93%

Team punt avg.*41.3

Blocked FG vs Ole MissAlex January, 58-yd att.

*Team punting average through Week 7. Official team stats · Ole Miss recap

Ball placement & rushing upside

Where premium tracking metrics were unavailable, the analysis uses clearly labeled proxies rather than pretending the missing numbers exist.

9.2

Taylor’s yards per pass attempt

1,460 yards on 159 attempts with a 172.8 efficiency rating and an 83.4 QBR (13th nationally) — elite placement numbers, compiled almost entirely before the toe injury that has now ended his season.

Mississippi State · QBR via Saturday Down South

No public on-target or adjusted completion rates were found for either quarterback. Completion percentage, yards per attempt and QBR are the placement proxies used here: Taylor 65.4% / 9.2 YPA against Manning’s 63.3% / 7.7 YPA.
Manning’s deep-ball proxy: a 50-yard touchdown strike to Ryan Wingo against Ole Miss, part of Wingo’s 7-catch, 111-yard night — evidence the vertical game works when the protection holds.
Explosive-run proxy: Brown’s 47- and 28-yard fourth-quarter runs against Ole Miss, on his way to 157 yards; he averages 5.0 per carry for the season. Bothwell answers at 5.6 per carry with 514 yards in six games.
Team efficiency proxy: Mississippi State averages 6.3 yards per play (439.7 yards per game) but just 12.7 points per game over its last three; Texas allows 4.2 yards per play (285.4 per game) — the widest single gap on the page.

Texas · Manning vs Ole Miss

Sources & caveats

Statistics are a dated snapshot through Week 8, compiled Sunday, October 25, 2026 and delta-updated Monday, October 26, 2026, Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Thursday, October 29, 2026, Friday, October 30, 2026 and again Saturday, October 31, 2026 — Texas figures combine the official cumulative PDF through Oct. 17 with the verified Ole Miss box score. Rankings are the AP Top 25 released Sunday, Oct. 25: Texas No. 11, Mississippi State unranked; no CFP rankings have been released yet. The SEC’s first Week 9 availability report was released Wednesday evening, Oct. 28, and the statuses below reflect it; the report updates nightly until 90 minutes before kickoff. Updates Oct. 25–29: Texas rose from No. 19 to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 released Sunday; the line is unchanged at Texas −20.5, total 50.5 (FanDuel, DraftKings via Sports Illustrated, and Action Network, Wednesday morning — a few books briefly showed 21 / 51.5), while the updated models moved slightly toward Texas (SP+ Texas by 16.9, ESPN FPI by 18.0, Sagarin by 15.0) and SportsLine’s model has Mississippi State covering in over 70% of simulations; Sports Illustrated’s post-Taylor-news pick now lays Texas −20.5, while SportsJaw projects Texas 31–17. Trevor Goosby is out for the season with a knee injury. Wednesday’s availability report lists Cam Coleman and Hollywood Smothers as probable and Colin Simmons as questionable — upgraded after he was not expected to play — with Richard Wesley also out for Texas; Mississippi State lists Taylor, Jalen Smith, Diesel Moye, Trevion Williams and Ayden Williams as out, with safety Isaac Smith (who missed the Oklahoma game) and left guard DJ Chester questionable. The week’s biggest change came Tuesday, Oct. 27: Mississippi State confirmed Kamario Taylor will miss the rest of the season for surgery on his injured toe (ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported surgery could come as early as Wednesday, Oct. 28); Taylor underwent that surgery on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and is listed as out on the Wednesday evening availability report. At that point Puckett was the likely starter, with Puckett and AJ Swann — the healthiest Swann has been this season — evaluated through the week. Lebby also confirmed starting linebacker Jalen Smith is out for the season after surgery. The Austin kickoff forecast shifted to overcast and about 78°F with light wind. Delta update Friday, Oct. 30: Thursday’s (Oct. 29) availability report downgraded Simmons from questionable to doubtful, removed Coleman and Smothers from the report entirely (cleared) and kept Lockett probable; Mississippi State downgraded left guard DJ Chester from questionable to out and added starting linebacker Tyler Lockhart as questionable, with safety Isaac Smith still questionable. Lebby will not name a starting quarterback until game day — Puckett and Swann split first-team work, and Horns247 sources expect Swann to start. The line held at Texas −20.5, total 50.5 (DraftKings, FanDuel and Covers, Oct. 29–30). Covers (Oct. 29) lays Texas −20.5 up to −23.5 with the Under, the Clarion Ledger’s game-week pick is Texas 40–17 and SportsJaw now projects Texas 35–14, while SportsLine still has Mississippi State covering in over 70% of simulations — the winner is unanimous, the cover is split. The Austin kickoff forecast is now overcast, about 72°F, wind about 4 mph. Delta update Saturday, Oct. 31: Friday’s (Oct. 30) availability report — the third of four, with a final update 90 minutes before kickoff — downgraded Texas edge Colin Simmons from doubtful to out (second straight game missed; Goosby and Wesley remain out) and removed WR Kaliq Lockett from the report entirely (cleared; Coleman and Smothers remain cleared). For Mississippi State, the Clarion Ledger reports S Isaac Smith and LB Tyler Lockhart were both downgraded from questionable to doubtful, with DJ Chester still out and the other outs unchanged (Taylor, Jalen Smith, Ayden Williams, Trevion Williams, Diesel Moye); Lebby still has not named a starting quarterback, and Horns247 sources still expect AJ Swann to start over Parker Puckett. The line held at Texas −20.5, total 50.5 on game day (FanDuel and DraftKings via Action Network and Hook’em Headlines’ final odds, Oct. 31; a few books showed −21 and BetMGM −20). The winner remains unanimous for Texas and the cover lean moved modestly toward Texas: Action Network (Texas −20.5) and USA Today Sportsbook Wire (Texas 31–6, best bet Texas −20.5) joined Covers and Sports Illustrated laying the points, Athlon’s Steven Lassan picked Texas 38–13 and Pick Dawgz Texas by a 38–13 margin, while Bleacher Nation’s computer still takes Mississippi State to cover and Longhorns Wire’s staff split (34–17, 27–20, 34–13). The projected final on this page is unchanged at Texas 35, Mississippi State 13. Kickoff, venue and TV are unchanged: 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. Rankings are unchanged — fresh checks confirm the AP Top 25 of Sunday, Oct. 25: Texas No. 11, Mississippi State unranked; the first CFP rankings are still to come on Nov. 3. The Austin kickoff forecast is now overcast, about 73°F, wind about 6 mph.

Official Mississippi State season statistics PDF (through Oct. 24)Team, player, kicking, punting and turnover totals: 30.0 points per game, 439.7 yards per game, 6.3 yards per play, −4 turnover margin.
Official Texas season statistics PDF (through Oct. 17)Team, player, kicking, punting and turnover totals, updated on this page with the Week 8 box score.
Texas 34, Ole Miss 27 — Week 8 box scoreVerified Week 8 result: Texas 419 yards, 207 rushing, three takeaways; Manning 18-of-30 for 212 yards.
Oklahoma 23, Mississippi State 15 — Week 8 box scoreVerified Week 8 result: Taylor 2-of-5 before exiting; Puckett 17-of-24 for 158; Bothwell 111 rushing yards.
Clarion Ledger — Taylor re-injury and the Texas tripBeat reporting: Taylor re-aggravated the injury vs Oklahoma; status for Texas undecided postgame.
USA Today — Taylor availability historySEC availability reports: questionable all week vs Oklahoma, out vs LSU, boot on his right foot.
Sports Illustrated — Texas injury updatesGoosby carted off, Coleman shoulder, Simmons and Smothers already out in Week 8.
On3 — Sarkisian postgame, Ole Miss“Neither of them looked very good” on Goosby and Coleman; team won without Simmons and Smothers.
The Sports Wire — SP+ ratings and model snapshotSP+: Texas +21.1 (No. 8), Mississippi State +7.3 (No. 47); both of its models favor Texas.
Saturday Down South — Texas response, FPI outlookESPN FPI gives Texas a 57.4% chance of reaching the CFP after the Ole Miss win.
Longhorns Wire — ESPN FPI matchup predictorPreseason FPI gave Texas a 95.8% win probability in this matchup; listed for context, not as a current-week figure.
Clarion Ledger — 2026 game-by-game predictionsExpert pick: Texas 27, Mississippi State 13.
SEC Scouts — Mississippi State at Texas previewExpert pick: Texas 38, Mississippi State 31.
Clarion Ledger — Week 9 kickoff announcementSaturday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m. CT in Austin on ESPN; Texas won last year’s meeting in overtime after trailing by 17 in the fourth quarter.
Hook’em Headlines — early odds, No. 11 Texas vs Mississippi StateFanDuel: Texas −20.5, moneyline −1400 / +800, total 50.5 (implied about Texas 35, Mississippi State 15); kickoff 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday, Oct. 31 on ESPN at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
Burnt Orange Nation — AP Top 25 updateAP poll released Sunday, Oct. 25: Texas moved up from No. 19 to No. 11 after the 34–27 win over then-No. 7 Ole Miss; also No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. Mississippi State remains unranked.
Longhorns Wire — Goosby out for seasonESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday, Oct. 25 that LT Trevor Goosby will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered against Ole Miss (14 snaps, carted off, crutches); Andre Cojoe took over. Oct. 26 reporting via Orangebloods’ Anwar Richardson said WR Cam Coleman’s shoulder injury is not expected to be severe.
Orangebloods — Texas 20.5-point favoriteEarly line Texas −20.5, implied Texas 35.5, Mississippi State 15; Taylor to be evaluated Monday, with Billy Puckett and AJ Swann to compete if he cannot play; no official Week 9 updates yet on Goosby/Coleman beyond postgame, or on Simmons/Smothers.
Open-Meteo forecast — Austin, kickoff hourUpdated Oct. 31: 6 p.m. CT, Oct. 31: about 73°F, overcast (WMO code 3), wind about 6 mph, precipitation probability 0%. Game-day forecast; expect revision.
Clarion Ledger — Lebby Oct. 26 update: Taylor timeline and Jalen SmithLebby: Mississippi State will know a lot more about Taylor in the next 48 hours; Puckett and Swann will compete if Taylor cannot play. Starting linebacker Jalen Smith is done for the season after surgery for the injury suffered against Alabama (28 tackles, 1 INT); Fatt Forrest has started the last two games in his place.
Texas on SI via Yardbarker — Coleman practiced MondayOct. 27: 247Sports’ Chip Brown reported Cam Coleman practiced Monday without a non-contact jersey; availability vs Mississippi State not yet officially confirmed. Also: 247Sports’ Mississippi State preview said Colin Simmons is not expected to play barring a strong recovery.
SportsLine — Week 9 model picksOct. 26: the SportsLine Projection Model has Mississippi State (+21) covering in over 70% of simulations against Texas and projects the Under in over 50% of simulations — a cover lean, not an outright-upset call; every model checked still favors Texas to win.
USA Today — Taylor out for the seasonOct. 27: Mississippi State confirmed Taylor will miss the remainder of the 2026 season due to a foot injury requiring season-ending surgery; ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported surgery could come as soon as Wednesday, Oct. 28, and a full recovery is expected. Puckett takes over at quarterback.
NBC Sports — Taylor out for the seasonOct. 27: the school said in a statement Tuesday that Taylor will miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury that requires surgery, stemming from the toe injured Sept. 26 against Missouri.
Sports Illustrated — prediction and odds, post-Taylor newsOct. 28: DraftKings still lists Texas −20.5 and the total at 50.5 for the 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN kickoff at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium; with Taylor sidelined and Puckett starting, SI’s pick lays the points with Texas −20.5.
SportsJaw — Mississippi State at Texas predictionOct. 28: projects Texas 31, Mississippi State 17 and rates Mississippi State +20.5 its best wager — a cover lean the other way from SI; kickoff Saturday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN in Austin.
Clarion Ledger — Week 9 availability report, Oct. 28First SEC availability report (Wednesday evening): Mississippi State out — Kamario Taylor (season-ending foot surgery Oct. 28), Jalen Smith, Diesel Moye, Trevion Williams, Ayden Williams; questionable — S Isaac Smith, OL DJ Chester. Texas out — Trevor Goosby, Richard Wesley; questionable — Colin Simmons; probable — Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers, Kaliq Lockett.
On3 — Thursday’s SEC availability report, Oct. 29Texas: Goosby and Wesley out, Simmons doubtful, Lockett probable; Coleman and Smothers no longer listed (cleared). Mississippi State out — Taylor, Jalen Smith, Ayden Williams, Trevion Williams, Diesel Moye; questionable — Isaac Smith, Tyler Lockhart. Clarion Ledger’s updated report adds DJ Chester downgraded to out.
Clarion Ledger — game-week prediction, Oct. 30Game-week score pick: Texas 40, Mississippi State 17; Billy Puckett or AJ Swann will start at quarterback, with the starter unnamed before game day.
Covers — prediction, picks and odds, Oct. 29Top pick Texas −20.5 (up to −23.5) and Under 50.5; spread and total unchanged at Texas −20.5 / 50.5, kickoff 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN in Austin.
247Sports / Horns247 — first availability report and QB starterLebby has declined to publicly name a starter; sources told Horns247’s Chip Brown the fifth-year veteran Swann will earn the start on Saturday in Austin.
Clarion Ledger — Friday availability report, Oct. 30Updated report: Mississippi State LB Tyler Lockhart and S Isaac Smith downgraded to doubtful, OL DJ Chester out; Texas edge Colin Simmons downgraded to out. Final report updates 90 minutes before kickoff.
247Sports — Simmons ruled out on Friday’s report, Oct. 30Friday evening report: Texas out — Goosby, Wesley, Simmons; Coleman, Lockett and Smothers off the report (cleared). Mississippi State out — Taylor, Jalen Smith, Ayden Williams, Trevion Williams, Chester, Moye. Horns247 sources still expect Swann to start at QB for Mississippi State.
Saturday Down South — Simmons out, Oct. 31Simmons downgraded questionable (Wed.) to doubtful (Thu.) to out (Fri.); FBS-leading 10.5 sacks; second straight game missed. Kickoff 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Action Network — prediction and odds, Oct. 31Pick: Texas −20.5 (FanDuel); some books at Texas −21; total 50.5; kickoff 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN in Austin.
USA Today / Sportsbook Wire — odds and prediction, Oct. 31FanDuel: Texas −20.5, total 50.5. Prediction: Texas 31, Mississippi State 6; best bet Texas −20.5.
Hook’em Headlines — final odds, Oct. 31FanDuel final line unchanged all week: Texas −20.5, total 50.5, moneyline Texas −1450 / Mississippi State +890.