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Texas beats No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27, rises to No. 11

By Drooid · Oct 30, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

Texas beat No. 7 Ole Miss 34-27, improving to 5-2, 2-2 SEC and climbing to No. 11 AP.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian said SEC schedule creates “eight more losses” and may lower the committee’s valuation of SEC wins.
Sarkisian warned another loss could jeopardize Texas’s CFP bid, while additional wins would improve its chances.
Texas still faces five SEC games against Mississippi State, No. 23 Missouri, No. 15 LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

History

In 1992 the SEC added Arkansas and South Carolina, expanding to twelve members and adopting an eight-game conference slate that instantly heightened schedule difficulty. Subsequent reforms—such as the 2024 removal of divisions and the 2026 shift to nine conference games—have kept the league fiercely competitive, so Sarkisian’s warning that a loss in Texas’s remaining SEC matchups could end its CFP hopes echoes a decades-long trend.

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In 1992 the SEC added Arkansas and South Carolina, expanding to twelve members and adopting an eight-game conference slate that instantly heightened schedule difficulty. Subsequent reforms—such as the 2024 removal of divisions and the 2026 shift to nine conference games—have kept the league fiercely competitive, so Sarkisian’s warning that a loss in Texas’s remaining SEC matchups could end its CFP hopes echoes a decades-long trend.

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