No. 11 Texas hosts Mississippi State and its three-game skid

No. 11 Texas returns to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday to face Mississippi State in an SEC game. The Longhorns are 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while the Bulldogs are 4-3 and 2-3 in the SEC. Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM Central.

Texas beat UTSA 30-6, won at Tennessee 20-17, then lost to Oklahoma 27-24 and to Florida 27-24 before beating Ole Miss 34-27. Four of those five games were decided by eight points or fewer.

Mississippi State opened its last five with a 41-34 win at South Carolina and a 31-24 win over Missouri, then lost three straight: 56-23 to Alabama, 31-0 at LSU and 23-15 to Oklahoma. Three of the five were one-score games.

Arch Manning leads the Longhorns with 1,507 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Raleek Brown has 422 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, Ryan Wingo has 456 receiving yards and 4 scores, and Colin Simmons has 10.5 sacks. For the Bulldogs, Kamario Taylor has thrown for 1,460 yards with 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, Fluff Bothwell has 514 rushing yards and Anthony Evans III has 647 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.

The most telling matchup is Mississippi State's passing game against Texas' pass defense. The Bulldogs average 264.7 yards through the air, while the Longhorns allow 178.1. Overall, Mississippi State averages 30.0 points and 439.7 yards per game; Texas allows 19.1 points and 285.4 yards. Texas rushes for 146.1 yards per game against a Mississippi State rush defense that allows 124.6.

DraftKings lists Texas as a 21-point favorite with an over/under of 50.5, and ESPN's matchup predictor gives the Longhorns a 90.1% chance to win. The game airs on ESPN.