AUSTIN, Texas — To say the first half for Ole Miss went poorly against Texas, would be a massive understatement.
The Rebels were out-gained by more than 100 total yards and went through six consecutive scoreless drives that ended in either a punt or interception. Ole Miss went into the locker room down 24-3, and was fortunate to not be trailing by more.
However, the second half was a completely different story. It didn’t take long for the momentum to swing the Rebels’ direction either.
Less than two minutes into the second half a Blake Purchase strip sack finally broke the ice for Ole Miss, helping them get across the goal line for the first time after Kam Franklin turned the fumble into a touchdown. The critical defensive play sparked Ole Miss to score 21 unanswered points to pull itself all the way back into the game late into the fourth quarter.
The Rebels would have to fight back late in the final frame after surrendering the next 10 points, and were resilient again. A field goal, followed by a successful onside kick, gave Trinidad Chambliss and the offense one last opportunity to tie or take a lead on the game’s final play, but the Rebels’ 29-yard prayer was intercepted.
Texas absolutely deserves credit for its ability to finish the game out and its defensive game plan for much of the contest, but Ole Miss didn’t do itself any favors with the amount of first half setbacks it had.
What the Loss Means
The Rebels’ second half fight in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 was admirable and could be a testament to the type of team they actually are, but Saturday night’s loss at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium essentially erased the margin for error going forward.
The loss drops Ole Miss to 5-2 (3-2) on the year and puts much more pressure on the Rebels the rest of the way. At the very least, Ole Miss entered the season expecting itself to qualify for the College Football Playoffs by the end of the regular season and will operate like it can’t lose any of its next five games.
Going into the top-25 matchup Texas was the team with its back against the wall, putting itself in a must-win position after dropping two-straight. Now, after the Longhorns survived another potential blown lead, Ole Miss will know that feeling for the rest of the 2026 season.
“The room for error is definitely smaller now. Even after the loss to Florida, I feel like it was still slim there too. You never want to lose a game, especially when it’s achievable to win. I feel like Florida and tonight were games we could’ve won. That just goes on me as a quarterback. Having three points in the first half is unacceptable and I take full responsibility for that, there’s no excuse for that. But, yeah, now we gotta win out.”
That said, despite the loss, head coach Pete Golding knows everything that the Rebels wanted out of the season is still in front of them.
“Oh, 100 percent (everything is still in front of the team). There’s not an undefeated team left. We control our own destiny and we ain’t got any more ‘my bads’,” Golding said following the loss. “That’s what I said in the locker room — ‘You ain’t got no days off anymore’. That’s over. It’s not easy week in and week out, but we got the right group and the right type of guys. We got good players, so we’re gonna go to work and see what happens.”
Peeking ahead, Ole Miss' next two games will be in front of its home crowd against Auburn and a top-10 Georgia team. Two games that are winnable if the Rebels play at their best, but only time will tell to see which version shows up at a favorable venue like Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
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