Texas vs. Ole Miss: The Matchups That Will Decide the Game

The Texas Longhorns will be tested when the Ole Miss Rebels head to Austin.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, runs onto the field before a game against the Michigan Wolverines. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns won't shy away from a tough matchup when they stare down the gauntlet of a schedule they will face throughout the 2026 season. The Longhorns take on some of the top teams in the SEC and one of the best teams in the nation in the non-conference portion of the season.

The challenges for the Longhorns will last all season long, from early on until the final week of the regular season. And it will be no different when Texas arrives in the second month of the season to take on the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Longhorns will host the Rebels in what could be a primetime game at Darrell K. Royal Stadium against what was a College Football Playoff team from a season ago. The talent level on both sidelines will be close to even, meaning matchups will be crucial in deciding the winner. Here's a look at two matchups that could be the deciding factor.

Trinidad Chambliss vs. Texas' Defensive Line

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) signals a first down after his run against the Miami Hurricanes. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Rebels have one of the best quarterbacks from a season ago returning under center for them in 2026 in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. The quarterback was one of the biggest stories of the 2025 season, coming out of nowhere to lead Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Now Chambliss returns for another season, proven to be one of the top signal callers in college football, especially after his postseason performances, where he put on the cape multiple times for the Rebels with his dynamic dual-threat abilities.

However, on the other side of the field, Chambliss will stare down what should be one of the top defensive lines in all of college football, led by star edge rusher Colin Simmons.

As seen multiple times, the best way to slow down an explosive offense with a dynamic quarterback is with pressure. And the Longhorns should be more than equipped to apply pressure on Chambliss, with possibly the best edge rusher in the country in Simmons, and help from others.

Steve Sarkisian vs. Pete Golding

Mississippi Rebels head coach Pete Golding (center) reacts on the sidelines during the second half of the 2026 Sugar Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Georgia Bulldogs. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

While the obvious outcome of the matchup will be what happens between the lines, the chess match between the two head coaches, Steve Sarkisian and Pete Golding, will have equally, if not more, influence on the final score.

Obviously, for the Longhorns, Sarkisian is the play caller for the offense, and for Golding, while he heads into his first season as a head coach, he will still call plays for the Ole Miss defense.

Two head coaches who both call plays for opposite sides of the ball facing off isn't a matchup seen often in this day and age of college football, but it will be on display when the Longhorns take on the Rebels.

The Longhorns are set to have one of the top offenses in college football, while the Rebels' defense, which has plenty of moving parts, was one of the top units in the SEC in 2025. And the two voices behind the units are the team's head coaches, putting an extra game within the game outside of what happens directly on the field.

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