Mississippi
Texas vs. Mississippi State: How to watch, odds, weather, injuries, series history
SEC play begins for No. 1 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian this coming weekend at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Texas wrapped up non-conference play last weekend with a dominant 51-3 win over the UL-Monroe Warhawks at home at DKR to move to 4-0 entering the SEC slate.
The Longhorns were really impressive during the non-conference slate, winning all four of its games by double-digit margins. In fact, none of the Longhorns’ three out-of-conference wins at home thus far have come by a margin of fewer than 48 points.
Texas enters conference play with the expectations of competing for a National Championship and an SEC title this fall. For back-to-back weeks, the Longhorns have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2008.
The conference opener this weekend against Mississippi State brings a struggling SEC squad into a tough environment on the Forty Acres for an afternoon matchup this Saturday, Sep. 28. Mississippi State has dropped three straight contests entering Texas’s SEC opener this weekend, including one by a score of 41-17 to the G5 Toledo Rockets a couple of weeks ago.
Here’s a look at the game information, betting odds, injuries, and more for the Week 5 matchup in the SEC opener between No. 1 Texas and Mississippi State at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX, on Sep. 28.
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio/Audio Stream: Longhorn Radio Network
Game time: 3:15 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
For the first time ever, the Longhorns will have an SEC game broadcast live on the SEC Network for the Mississippi State contest this weekend. Per ESPN’s broadcaster schedule, on the call for this game between Texas and Mississippi State at DKR will be Tom Hart, Cole Cubelic, and Alyssa Lang.
Texas is a 38.5-point favorite against Mississippi State in Week 5 at home at DKR, and the Longhorns are favored heavily in the money line (-20000) over the Bulldogs (+4000) (per FanDuel). The over/under is 62.5 points.
The status of starting redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers remains uncertain for the Longhorns entering the Mississippi State game on Sep. 28. Sarkisian said in his Monday press conference that Ewers is likely going to be “questionable” for his status on the SEC-mandated injury report later this week.
Redshirt freshman Arch Manning won his first career start at quarterback for the Longhorns last weekend over ULM, while Ewers continues to recover from the abdominal strain injury.
Texas has also suffered quite a few injuries in the running back and safety rooms in the last couple of weeks. Sophomore safeties Jelani McDonald and Derek Williams Jr. were sidelined last weekend in the win over ULM due to various lower-body injuries.
Sophomore running back Tre Wisner also missed last week’s contest against ULM due to an injury. Junior running back Jaydon Blue returned from an ankle injury after missing the UTSA game last weekend against ULM. Blue should be active as Texas’s starting running back this weekend against Mississippi State.
Quinn Ewers, QB (Abdominal)
Tre Wisner, RB (Undisclosed)
CJ Baxter Jr., RB (Knee)
Christian Clark, RB (Achilles)
Jaydon Blue, RB (Ankle)
Jelani McDonald, S (Ankle)
Derek Williams Jr., S (Hamstring)
According to the AccuWeather forecast, it is expected to be 93 degrees around the time of kickoff at DKR in Austin on Sep. 28. There are minimal chances of precipitation in the forecast for Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs.
Texas is 2-2 in the all-time series against Mississippi State. The Longhorns were victorious the last time these two teams met on the gridiron on Jan. 1, 1999, by a score of 38-11 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
It will be a beautiful start to the weekend with sunny skies and highs in the 80s. Here’s your statewide forecast from the National Weather Service.
Northern Mississippi
It will be a sunny Friday with highs in the mid-80s. Friday night will be mostly cloudy and warmer with lows in the mid to upper 60s.
Central Mississippi
Friday will be sunny with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Friday night will be mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Southern Mississippi
It will be a sunny Friday with highs in the mid-80s. Friday night will be partly cloudy with lows in the lower 60s.
Mississippi
Golden Spikes watchlist features players from Mississippi State, Ole Miss – SuperTalk Mississippi
Two pitchers representing Mississippi universities are up for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award.
USA Baseball announced Thursday the 25 semifinalists for the award, which is presented annually to the most prolific college player in the nation. Both Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius and Ole Miss’ Cade Townsend cracked the list. It’s the latest award each was announced to be up for after Valincius and Townsend became Ferris Trophy finalists earlier this week.
Valincius, a left-hander who followed first-year Bulldog head coach Brian O’Connor to Starkville from Virginia has been a star for Mississippi State this season. In 13 starts, the sophomore is 8-2 with a 2.52 ERA and 105 strikeouts, along with just 16 walks across 75 innings of work.
He has effectively limited opposing hitters to a .209 batting average on the year and ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and wins, and is third in innings pitched and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.56) and WHIP (0.99).
Valincius is the 10th Bulldog to earn a semifinalist distinction from the Golden Spikes Award and the first since Dakota Jordan in 2024. Will Clark is the program’s only Golden Spikes Award winner in 1985 while Rafael Palmeiro and Brent Rooker finished as finalists for the honor in 1984 and 2017, respectively.
For Ole Miss, Townsend is the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 and just the seventh ever to be named a semifinalist for the award. He is the first Ole Miss sophomore to ever be named a semifinalist as all six before him were juniors.
The right-hander boasts a 3.25 ERA and has struck out 77 batters while only allowing 20 earned runs in 55.1 innings. Townsend ranks fifth in the SEC in WHIP (1.01), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50), and strikeouts per nine innings (12.52). He leads the Rebels in all three categories as well as batters struck out looking (24) and wins and is second in opponent batting average (.202) and total strikeouts (77).
If Townsend is announced as a finalist, he will join Stephen Head and Drew Pomeranz in earning the honor. No Ole Miss player has ever won the Golden Spikes Award.
The full list of semifinalists can be found here. Finalists will be named on June 10, and this year’s Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced on the MLB Network on June 29. Fans can weigh in on which player is their favorite by clicking here.
One series remains in the regular season and Ole Miss and Mississippi State baseball are in similar situations.
Both are locks for the NCAA Tournament but are on the bubble for hosting a regional.
The Tennessean’s latest bracket projections have both the Rebels and Bulldogs as two of the 16 national seeds, but that is not solidified yet.
Finding wins in the final series, and possibly the SEC Tournament too, are necessary. Both teams close the regular season on the road against ranked teams that are also projected to host regionals.
The No. 12 Bulldogs (38-14, 15-12 SEC) play at No. 10 Texas A&M (37-12, 16-10). The No. 19 Rebels (35-18, 14-13) play at No. 16 Alabama (35-17, 16-11). Both series begin May 14 (6 p.m., SEC Network+).
Here’s a look at the different scenarios for Ole Miss and Mississippi State to host NCAA Tournament regionals.
Mississippi State, Ole Miss hosting scenarios for NCAA Tournament
Ole Miss and Mississippi State getting swept could knock them completely out of the hosting conversation, barring a deep run in the SEC Tournament. However, SEC Tournament wins are not always viewed the same as SEC regular-season wins by the selection committee.
Mississippi State is in a slightly better spot than Ole Miss. The Bulldogs’ RPI is at No. 12, one spot ahead of Ole Miss. They are tied for sixth in the SEC standings, while Ole Miss is ninth.
The Bulldogs also went 4-0 against Ole Miss, which could give them the edge if the final hosting seed came down to those two teams.
The Tennessean projects MSU as the No. 12 national seed and the Rebels as the No. 13 seed. D1Baseball and Baseball America also project MSU to host, however they both have Ole Miss as a No. 2 seed.
That could mean Ole Miss needs two wins against Alabama, while MSU may be fine with just one win at Texas A&M. If Ole Miss wins one game at Alabama, it probably would need multiple wins in the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State winning two games at Texas A&M could keep it in contention for a top eight seed. Ole Miss and Mississippi State sweeping their series obviously would, too.
Getting a top eight seed is advantageous because that means you are guaranteed to host a super regional.
Who Ole Miss, Mississippi State fans should root against
It will help Ole Miss and Mississippi State if teams near them in the projections lose, too. That would be teams like Oregon, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Nebraska, Oregon State and Kansas.
Oregon hosts Southern Cal, Nebraska plays at Minnesota, Kansas plays at BYU, Wake Forest plays at Duke, Oregon State hosts Air Force and West Virgina hosts TCU.
How NCAA Tournament history could be made in Mississippi
If everything falls the right way, there’s a chance Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss all host NCAA Tournament regionals. That’s never happened.
The No. 9 Golden Eagles (37-14, 19-8 Sun Belt) are projected by The Tennessean as the No. 10 national seed, just ahead of MSU and Ole Miss.
Southern Miss plays a home series against Georgia Southern (15-37, 7-20) at Pete Taylor Park beginning May 14 (7 p.m., ESPN+).
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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