Inside the Numbers: Ugliness in the margins nearly cost Texas vs. Ole Miss

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 24: Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown #0 breaks a long run as Ole Miss Rebels cornerback Jalyn Crawford #0 pursues during the SEC football game between the Texas Longhorns and Ole Miss on October 24, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The parallels between the previous three games are hard to ignore. The Texas Longhorns looked in control early against the Ole Miss Rebels, but undisciplined play and offensive ineptitude let the lead slip away. The big difference from the previous two weeks and the nail-biting win over Ole Miss: Texas put together a difference-making second-half drive to snatch victory from the jaws of another embarrassing defeat. Texas rushing: 42 car, 207 yards, 3 TDHeading into the fourth quarter, it looked like another ground-game stinker for Texas with just 88 yards on 2.9 yards per carry. But when the Longhorns needed a scoring drive to avoid another embarrassing home loss, the running backs and offensive line delivered. On its first fourth-quarter scoring drive, Texas kept the ball on the ground on all six plays, rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown to retake the lead. A huge 43-yard rush from Raleek Brown, reversing field on a zone call to find space and make multiple defenders miss, sparked the drive. RB4 Michael Terry, usually the short-yardage specialist, came in and added two explosives of his own, covering 31 yards on two plays to put Texas on the 1-yard line.Two plays later, Sark dialed up one of his best calls of the night — a play-action naked bootleg that let Arch Manning waltz into the end zone. That drive accounted for 38.6 percent of the team’s ground production, averaging 13 yards per carry, with three of the seven explosive runs coming on one drive. The Texas run game has been deservedly maligned so far this season, with only one game that seemed to justify the decision to grab two of the nation’s top transfer running backs — a 231-yard outburst against UTSA more than a month ago. However, with Hollywood Smothers sidelined again, Brown showed why he was one of the most-coveted players in the transfer portal. His 157 yards against Ole Miss marked the first time a Texas running back went over 100 yards this year; meanwhile, CJ Baxter hit the mark twice for Kentucky before suffering another injury.Texas third downs: 3/13 (23.1 percent)A three-score comeback doesn’t happen by accident and is usually abetted by poor play, which is nothing new for Texas this year. In the first half, the Horns looked to have solved their consistency problems on offense, with just two three and outs in the opening 30 minutes. Then, the wheels fell off in the second half. Texas converted one third down in the second half, a two-yard run by Terry on 3rd and 1. That rep started as 3rd and 6, but Texas finally picked up the encroachment flag they’d been begging for all game. On the next play, Blake Purchase ran past Andre Cojoe and strip-sacked Manning for the Rebels’ first touchdown of the game. Speaking of encroachment hunting, all three false-start penalties came on third down, accounting for 30 percent of their offensive penalty yardage. The Longhorns faced an average of 8.4 yards to go on third down, gaining just 3.6 yards on average. Even without the penalties, Texas was just flat-out ineffective at converting, led by the quarterback’s struggles. Manning was 2-of-6 passing for 12 yards on third downs, while Texas rushed just seven times for 35 yards on third downs, with two of their three conversions coming on called runs for the quarterback. Texas: 14 penalties, 134 yardsAmong the 2026, a lack of discipline has shown up often, especially as the calendar turned to SEC play. Over the last four games, Texas has been penalized 43 times for 325 yards, and in seven games, the team has 460 total penalty yards. The outing against Ole Miss was the most penalties since Oklahoma State in 2022 and the most penalty yardage since 2020 against those same Cowboys. But beyond the raw numbers, the Longhorns truly sabotaged themselves in dramatic fashion against the Rebels. Penalties nullified 26 yards of offense, including one that led directly to Arch Manning’s first turnover of the game, an interception on third and long two plays later. Three of their six offensive penalties came on third downs, plus a first down called back after an explosive run from Raleek Brown. Defensively, all five penalties gave the Rebels a free first down. A suplex that turned a 3rd and 3 into a 1st and 10 kicked things off with the defense’s yellow laundry problem on a play that featured two personal foul penalties on the Longhorns, followed by three PI penalties and a roughing the passer. Adding insult to injury, the same player was flagged for two personal fouls on kickoffs, giving Jeff Banks’s unit a whopping 20 percent of the team’s penalty yards in the third phase of the game.