College GameDay Makes Official Predictions for Ole Miss vs. Texas

The College GameDay crew made their picks for a crucial ranked conference matchup between Ole Miss and Texas.

Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Horatio Fields reacts after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels will travel to Austin, Texas, tonight to take on the No. 19 Texas Longhorns in a ranked conference matchup with major College Football Playoff implications.

Ole Miss will be looking for its third straight win following victories against Vanderbilt and No. 22 Missouri. Texas will be looking to bounce back after two consecutive losses against Oklahoma and No. 20 Florida.

Texas will be without key players in edge rusher Colin Simmons and running back Hollywood Smothers. The team may also be making a change at quarterback, as backup KJ Lacey Jr. has taken more first-team reps from Arch Manning than normal in practice this week.

ESPN's College GameDay was in Salt Lake City, Utah, this morning to preview No. 10 Utah vs. No. 14 Houston, but still found time to have Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and guest picker Dalton Kincaid make picks for Ole Miss vs. Texas.

Here are the picks:

Mississippi Rebels safety Joenel Aguero celebrates with safeties Nick Cull and Sharif Denson after a defensive stop during the second half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Desmond Howard: Ole Miss

The Michigan alumni and former Heisman Trophy winner isn't trusting Texas' defense without Colin Simmons.

"Defensively, without Colin Simmons, I don't see how they can stop Trinidad Chambliss. I'm going with Ole Miss," Howard said.

Nick Saban: Texas

Both Texas' and Ole Miss' head coaches spent time on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. In a game with playoff implications, Saban backed Texas' Steve Sarkisian to have his team bounce back.

"Texas, with their back against the wall, they're going to respond the right way. I'm going with Texas," Saban said.

Pat McAfee: Ole Miss

McAfee compared this game to a coin flip, saying he wants to pick both teams, but is maintaining faith in Ole Miss' star quarterback.

"I'm gonna go with Trinidad Chambliss getting a huge win down in Austin," McAfee said.

Dalton Kincaid: Ole Miss

The former Utah Ute and current Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid followed the trend and put his faith in Trinidad Chambliss.

"I'm also taking Ole Miss here," Kincaid said. "I think Trinidad Chambliss is one of the, if not the best, quarterbacks in college football, so I believe they go in there and take down Texas."

Three of the four pickers selected Ole Miss. The teams will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT tonight to see if they chose correctly.

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