After the Longhorns barely escaped the Kentucky Wildcats with a 16-13 overtime win, nothing felt certain for a Texas team that started the season as the No. 1 program in the nation.
Then, the Horns had to go on the road once again, facing yet another unranked SEC team with zero conference wins: the Mississippi State Bulldogs. As ESPN's College GameDay kicked off the day, Nick Saban had a few thoughts about the game.
Saban shared that he truly believed that the Texas-Mississippi State matchup could be the biggest trap game of the week as a rocky Longhorn offense prepared to face a Bulldog defense that had already gone toe-to-toe with a couple of conference opponents.
Could Mississippi State beat Texas?
Just a few weeks ago, the Bulldogs took then-No. 15 Tennessee to overtime, and while Mississippi State lost the game, it was a massive indicator that the team could hang with its conference opponents this season.
Just last week, Mississippi State was within two points of sending the Florida Gators, a team that whooped up on Texas, to overtime.
So, yes, the Bulldogs were 0-3 against SEC teams as they prepared to host the Longhorns, but Saban was completely correct: if Texas took its foot off the gas, Mississippi State could undeniably defeat Texas to get its first conference win of the season.
It could spell disaster for Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian to grow complacent as his team prepared to take on one of the lowest-ranked teams in the conference, as it almost spelled disaster just a week ago when Texas took on Kentucky.
Also read: Texas football week 9 injury report: Who’s in, who’s out vs. Mississippi State
No. 22 Texas (5-2 overall, 2-1 SEC) and Mississippi State (4-3 overall, 0-3 SEC) were scheduled to kick off at 3:15 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 25, and the game was set to be aired on the SEC Network.