Good morning, Everydayers. Colin Simmons has more than half of Texas’s sacks, Will Echoles is the hardest player on the Ole Miss defense to block, and Texas was the No. 1 team in the country eleven days ago.
☕ Morning Coffee
“Colin Simmons has 55% of Texas’s sacks, and Trinidad Chambliss has been sacked 5 times all year. That, my friends, is the gift.”
That is how Steven opened today’s LOOM Flagship. Three things from the show:
- The gift. Per the Texas game notes, Simmons has 10.5 of Texas’s 19 sacks. Take out the 10-sack Tennessee game and the rest of the Texas defense has four sacks in five games. Against Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida, everyone other than Simmons combined for two. Simmons is reportedly out with a high ankle sprain (Yahoo Sports, Orangebloods); Texas has not confirmed it. Chambliss has been sacked five times in six games.
- Why Will Echoles is so hard to block. Patrick Kutas, who blocks him every day in practice, said Tuesday: “He is a very large human that moves very fast, and he is very strong, and he’s very smart.” Makhi Frazier said a running back has to “make your read really quick because you know he’s going to be able to get off the ball.” Pro Football Focus grades Echoles as the best player on the Ole Miss defense.
- Still an over-talented Texas team. Texas put 11 players on the preseason Coaches All-SEC team, beat No. 1 Ohio State and spent four weeks at No. 1. What broke is third down: 27 of 48 in its first three games, 8 of 36 in its last three. And no takeaways in its last three. Steven: those are the stats that flip the fastest.
🏈 The Numbers
| Colin Simmons | Rest of Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Sacks | 10.5 | 8.5 |
| Tackles for loss | 16 | 29 |
| Multi-sack games | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks outside the Tennessee game | 5 | 4 |
- 0.83 sacks allowed a game by Ole Miss, the fewest in the SEC
- 17 sacks allowed by Texas in six games
- 8 of 36 on third down for Texas in its last three games
- 24 for 24 in the red zone for Ole Miss this season
🎤 What They Said
He is a very large human that moves very fast, and he is very strong, and he’s very smart. So he’s kind of like all of the top key attributes you need.
Patrick Kutas, on Will Echoles
Echoles explained the Golding approach after Missouri: “It’s a lot more fun calling a play on 3rd and 10 than 3rd and 2.” Against LSU, PFF charted him with seven pressures, and Ole Miss won. Against Florida, none on 17 rushes, and Florida ran for 302. Against Missouri, a sack and two pass breakups, and Missouri ran for 39. Read Echoles on “stop the run, have fun”.
🏆 In the Polls
| Poll | Ole Miss |
|---|---|
| AP | No. 7 |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
Texas is No. 19 in the AP poll, eleven days after it was No. 1.
📈 The Line
Per FanDuel, as of Sunday morning, Oct. 18: Texas -3.5, total 55.5. That number was posted before Monday’s Simmons report.
The show reads the market. It does not make picks.
🔮 Next: at Texas
| Matchup | No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1 SEC) at No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) |
| Kickoff | Saturday, Oct. 24 · 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Where | DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin |
| TV | ABC |
Three days to Texas. Ten to Auburn.
📻 This Week on Locked On Ole Miss
| Tuesday | LOOM Flagship: Texas without Colin Simmons, and They Said What? with Pete Golding · Rebel Squad LIVE with Tyler Komis: a look back at Missouri and a look ahead to Texas |
| On the Hub | Ole Miss allows the fewest sacks in the SEC · Game week preview: Texas · Golding on Arch Manning |
| Today | LOOM Flagship: how big a gift is Chambliss not facing Simmons, what makes Will Echoles so hard to block, and why this is still an over-talented Texas team |
🔗 Five Clicks
1. Football vs. Texas: First Look (olemisssports.com)
The school’s own primer on Saturday in Austin.
2. Ole Miss offensive line playing its best football (Yahoo Sports)
The front that has kept Trinidad Chambliss clean, heading into Texas week.
3. Rebels to watch vs. Texas (Yahoo Sports)
Who to keep an eye on Saturday night.
4. Postgame quotes vs. Missouri (olemisssports.com)
Every word from the 31-3 Homecoming win, from the school.
5. NFL Rebels update: Week 6 (olemisssports.com)
How former Rebels did on Sunday.
💬 Join the Everydayers
The Texas week thread is open in the LOOM Private Discord, free to join. Small, medium or huge: how big a gift is it for Chambliss if Simmons doesn’t play?
Everything else lives at olemisshub.com, and if you want the show ad-free plus the members-only room, take your fandom to the next level with the Everydayer Club.
Texas week. Hotty Toddy. 🦈
