Texas vs Mississippi State: A New Bulldogs Quarterback, a Leaky Pass Defense and the Matchups That Decide Saturday Night in Austin
Mississippi State arrives in Austin on Saturday night down three straight games and down its starting quarterback. Texas, 5-2 and coming off the Ole Miss win, gets the home game it has to have - and a set of matchups that say exactly where it will be won.
The headline changed on Tuesday. Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor will miss Saturday's game at Texas - and the rest of the 2026 season - ahead of surgery on the toe he injured on September 26 against Missouri, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported. Taylor was the Bulldogs' offense in miniature: 65.4 percent completions for 1,460 yards, with 17 touchdown passes against four interceptions, plus 147 rushing yards and a score. In his place, redshirt freshman Parker Puckett is expected to make the start in Austin, with veteran AJ Swann - a former starter at Vanderbilt and Appalachian State - available to coach Jeff Lebby if the night turns. Puckett played the bulk of last week's loss to Oklahoma and went 17-of-24 for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. Central on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, on ABC. Texas is 5-2 and 2-2 in the SEC after its 34-27 win over Ole Miss; Mississippi State is 4-3 and 2-3, carrying a three-game losing streak into the toughest road room left on its schedule, with ranked road trips to Missouri and LSU waiting on Texas's side of the bracket if the Longhorns handle this one.
The matchup that can break the game open is in the air. Mississippi State's pass defense ranks south of 120th nationally - the Bulldogs allow 267 passing yards a game, quarterbacks complete 67 percent of their passes against them, and the secondary has intercepted just two passes all season. That is the opening for Arch Manning and his receivers, if Texas takes it. The counterweight is on the ground: Mississippi State's run defense is a top-50 unit, and Texas's own consistency this season has lived and died with its offensive line - lean on the run and control the night, or stall and let a short-handed team hang around.
The Bulldogs' best player is the other problem. Running back Fluff Bothwell is a physical, fourth-quarter runner who can take a close game over late; Texas linebackers Rasheem Biles, Justin Cryer and Brad Spence draw the assignment of slowing him early, before the game can shrink to his size. Texas should control this game if it protects the ball - turnovers, penalties and special-teams mistakes are how an underdog stays in a road game for four quarters. Saturday night tells whether the Ole Miss win was a turn or a spike.
