Texas is reportedly set to host Ole Miss without its best pass rusher. Yahoo Sports reported Monday that he will miss multiple weeks with a high ankle sprain; an MRI showed no structural damage, and Texas has not confirmed it. His 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss both lead the country. Ole Miss allows the fewest sacks in the SEC and ranks 10th nationally.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis called it the biggest break Ole Miss has gotten all season, because it lands on the one thing this Texas defense does best. The defense Ole Miss studied on tape, Willis argued, is not the one it will see Saturday.
Pete Golding said Texas is “really explosive up front” and creates pressure with four, letting it drop seven into coverage. Golding called Texas “really sound on the back end,” a secondary that holds only if the front gets home. He added that one of Texas’s two running backs is banged up. Texas has lost two straight, both by three points.
Ole Miss has allowed about 72 rushing yards per game over eight quarters, holding Missouri to 39. Golding wants that done with four rushers rather than pressure on every snap, the second level playing as “erasers.” Willis noted a Texas thread: Landon Barnes, the freshman who intercepted a Missouri pass in the red zone, replaced that rusher at Duncanville High School.
Golding also warned his own team against “a false confidence that’s created by outcomes,” saying the 31-3 win did not match the body of work. Willis said the game may not get out of the 20s, and that Ole Miss needs a fast start, with Kewan Lacy and Makhi Frazier both Texas natives. Kickoff in Austin is 6:30 Saturday on ABC.
Photo: Kewan Lacy, October 17, 2026, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the October 20, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.