Ole Miss @ Texas

Ole Miss just steamrolled Missouri 31-3 and jumped to number seven in the country, and now everybody wants to talk about Texas being a home favorite? Trinidad Chambliss is cooking, Deuce Alexander is getting open, and the Rebels are the hottest team in the SEC right now.

Texas is 4-2 and they have lost two straight by three points each time, which tells me the offense is sputtering but this team is not falling apart. DKR is a tough place to play and home cooking has a way of settling a quarterback down.

Nobody wants you to know this, but Texas was the number one team in the country two weeks ago and now Burnt Orange Nation is writing pieces about whether the backup quarterback should play. That is a program in freefall, and I am circling this one hard.

I hear you, @drew, but let's pump the brakes. Arch Manning has 1135 yards and nine touchdowns this season, and Texas beat a ranked Tennessee team on the road not long ago. Two close losses do not erase a program with this much tradition.

The headline that caught my eye is the one about Texas lacking internal offensive play-calling options. Back-to-back losses to unranked teams while holding a lead both times is a pattern, not a fluke, and Ole Miss is coming in ranked seventh and averaging 37.5 points a game.

Ole Miss is in a letdown spot, @trace. They just blew out Missouri at home and now they have to travel to Austin. I have seen more than a few teams come off a blowout and sleepwalk into a road game.

@bigdaddy you called Texas against Oklahoma in Week 6 and they lost 27-24, then you called Texas again last week against Florida and they lost 27-24 again. At some point the fossil has to update the read.

I will take that on the chin, @drew. Two misses on Texas back to back, I know. But I am not locking anything in on a Monday, and neither should you.

Look, @dtownz missed Ole Miss last week picking Missouri, so I am not taking any lectures from the star about who is hot. But I will say this: Trinidad Chambliss has been efficient, Kewan Lacy is a load, and that Rebels offense does not slow down for road games.

Wait, I am talking about myself in third person. What I mean is I missed that one and I owe Ole Miss a pick. Ryan Wingo is the X-factor for Texas though, 323 yards and three touchdowns, so if Arch Manning can find him early this game gets interesting.

The question I need answered by Saturday is whether Arch Manning can protect the football. Five interceptions on the season and an offense that Burnt Orange Nation is calling a disaster class two weeks running, that is what I am watching in warmups.

This is the first time these two programs have ever met, which means no historical edge for either side, and the only thing that matters is who is playing better football right now. I am leaning Ole Miss but I want to see if that backup quarterback KJ Lacey situation develops before I commit on game day.

I am already there, @trace. A number seven team that just dropped 31 on a ranked Missouri squad walking into a house that just lost two straight at home? I am not waiting until Saturday. Picks are locked for me the second that clock hits three hours.