Texas Power 5 football previews

A matchup between two of the most prolific offenses in the Southeastern Conference didn’t go almost as planned.

A week after suffering a disappointing loss to Memphis, No. 24 Mississippi bounced back with a 23-3 victory over No. 15 Texas A&M in front of a season-high crowd of 60,674 on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

It seemed that no matter where Texas A&M’s offense turned, a swarm of blue and red was there to meet it.

After a 38-10 loss to Florida and a 37-24 loss to Memphis, Ole Miss appeared to be in danger of letting all memories of the 43-37 win at Alabama fade away.

“They’re the most talented we’ve seen at defensive end, and Laremy gives you a much better chance to win that every snap”. LSU has an off week, then has to play two of the following three weeks on the road against Alabama and Ole Miss, the two games that will shape the SEC race and have a significant impact on the playoff picture.

Receiver Laquon Treadwell has 49 catches for 654 yards and four touchdowns, and also threw a touchdown pass. Cody Core has 23 catches for 426 yards and 3 touchdowns. They are now 5-2 on the season. The Cardinal are averaging a ridiculous 45.0 points and 492.6 yards per game since Week 1 and suddenly they are on the map as a legitimate playoff contender out of the Pac-12.

Texas A&M visits Oxford, Mississippi to challenge Ole Miss. “Turnovers. Penalties. We couldn’t get off the field fast enough on defense”.

Ole Miss had never beaten Texas A&M before last season, when the Rebels won 35-20 in College Station….

Save for one quick drive, the Alabama defense was as stalwart as always and came up with a fumble recovery in the final minutes to seal the win.

#23 California at #24 UCLA (-3) – Remember when we had UCLA as a national player?

The good news is they only have to play one more ranked team. Regardless of what happens with LSU and Alabama in a few weeks, Ole Miss would have tiebreaker wins over two SEC West teams that would finish with one loss.

Because the Rebels still face LSU head-to-head – November 21 in Oxford, following a bye week – their road to Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game is direct.

Aggies pass-catchers combined for just 134 yards receiving, made all the more impressive by the complete lack of a run game Texas A&M was able to mount.

Ole Miss jumped out to a 16-3 lead by halftime and put the game out of reach with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Treadwell with 9:16 left in the third quarter. The Rebels were tack on yet another field goal taking a 16-3 lead to the locker room.

Having Tunsil back also allowed Fahn Cooper to move back to his natural position at right tackle. The Land Shark defense collapsed – the great Robert Nkemdichi, significantly, suffered a second-quarter concussion and missed the rest of the game.

The bad news is the NCAA’s interest in the Ole Miss athletics department isn’t necessarily over.

Kentucky at #19 Mississippi State (-11) – John Calipari told me Kentucky loses by four touchdowns.

Despite their lack of production, Kirk’s still second in the SEC with 609 yards and four touchdowns and Reynolds its only four spots back with 439 yards and three scores on the year. Senior quarterback Cody Kessler has five interceptions in the past three games, matching his interception total for the entire 2014 campaign.