Texas is in the thick of the race for the CFP, but the Longhorns are living on the edge as they prepare to face Mississippi State on Saturday night in Austin, Texas.
No. 11 Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) has played five teams in the current AP Top 25, winning three games with one-score outcomes. The Longhorns’ largest margin of victory came in a 34-27 home victory against then-No. 7 Ole Miss last Saturday, but they first squandered a 21-point halftime lead before recovering and narrowly avoiding overtime.
“It’s a dangerous way to live,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to clean this stuff up. We’ve got to play better, and that’s the beauty of winning but not being perfect, is that I get to come in and coach these guys on ‘here’s where we can get even better.'”
Quarterback Arch Manning turned the ball over three times against Ole Miss, but a team-wide problem was penalties. The Longhorns were penalized a season-high 14 times for 134 yards and were especially hurt by a series of defensive infractions.
“What’s important for us defensively,” Sarkisian said, “is learning how to play with an edge and play with emotion, but not get emotional.”
The victory against the Rebels ended a two-game losing streak for Texas. The Longhorns last played a true road game Sept. 26. This will be the Longhorns’ final home game before hitting the road for visits to No. 23 Missouri and No. 15 LSU.
Texas narrowly defeated Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3) on the road last season. The Bulldogs led 31-14 going into the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns stormed back to win 45-38 in overtime.
Mississippi State was ranked No. 16 this season after a 4-0 start, but it has lost three straight while star quarterback Kamario Taylor has been hobbled by a toe injury. Taylor returned from a one-game absence to start against Oklahoma last week, but didn’t finish the first quarter. He aggravated the injury and limped off the field.
Taylor’s status for Saturday is uncertain, but head coach Jeff Lebby is preparing for possibly playing without him. Redshirt freshman Billy Puckett has filled in for Taylor and completed 64 percent of his passes for 368 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
But fifth-year transfer AJ Swann, who is the healthiest he has been this season, is available. He started six games at Appalachian State and 12 at Vanderbilt before joining the Bulldogs.
“His maturity and his experience give him something that we don’t have in that room right now without Kamario,” Lebby said of Swann. “As we go through the week, being able to really evaluate these two guys and who gives us the best opportunity to win the game will ultimately (determine) the decision as we get close to kickoff.”
If Taylor can’t go, Lebby won’t ask either potential replacement to do everything that the starter does.
“I’ve got to put those guys in great position for success and what I’ve talked to them about all the time is layups,” Lebby said. “There’s nothing more important when your backup quarterback is playing than to make the layups.”