Shorthanded Texas Hosts No. 7 Ole Miss Saturday Night in First SEC Meeting
No. 18 Texas will face No. 7 Ole Miss at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) without the nation's sack leader and its leading rusher, after the Friday injury report ruled out Colin Simmons and Hollywood Smothers.
Texas and Ole Miss meet as SEC rivals for the first time on Saturday night, with No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1 SEC) visiting No. 18 Texas (4-2, 1-2) at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC, the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported. The programs have played eight times, but not since 2013, when Ole Miss won 44-23.
The Longhorns will do it shorthanded. The nation's sack leader, defensive end Colin Simmons, was ruled out on Thursday, and on Friday running back Hollywood Smothers — the team's leading rusher — joined Simmons and fellow defensive end Richard Wesley under the OUT designation, according to the Friday night injury report reported by Inside Texas and On3. Offensive lineman Jaydon Chatman and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett are also out. Freshman tailback Derrek Cooper is listed as probable, and backup center Jackson Christian is questionable.
The matchup carries its own family storyline: Texas quarterback Arch Manning faces the program of his uncle, Ole Miss legend Eli Manning, and his grandfather Archie Manning, while Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss leads a Rebels team on a two-game winning streak after comfortable wins over Vanderbilt and Missouri, the Clarion Ledger reported.
Texas, meanwhile, has dropped its past two games — to Oklahoma and to Florida, both by 27-24 — after climbing as high as No. 1 in the polls, and needs the win to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation. On ESPN's College GameDay panel, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and guest picker Dalton Kincaid all picked Ole Miss, while Nick Saban picked Texas, according to the Clarion Ledger's game-day file.
