This Texas football season may very well be defined by how the team performs in the first two weeks of November, but the Longhorns cannot skip ahead in the calendar. They have to close out October first. A Halloween meeting with Mississippi State is still vitally important, and it could be trickier than expected following the latest injury update. Colin Simmons has been downgraded to doubtful for this SEC home game, per Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.com.

The star edge rusher suffered a high-ankle sprain in Texas' loss to Florida and missed last Saturday's 34-27 win over Ole Miss. It appears he will be stuck on the sidelines once again, as his teammates try to build momentum amid what has been a seesaw of a season.

The Bulldogs' chances of earning their first winning campaign since 2022 took a big hit after Kamario Taylor's season-ending toe surgery, but the Longhorns could face their own challenges if Simmons is ruled out again. The 6-foot-3, 246-pounder boasts an FBS-leading 10.5 sacks to go along with 25 combined tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in six games this season. He is a ceiling-raiser for a program that is desperate to contend for a national championship.

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Texas (5-2) survived a formerly top-10 ranked Rebels team without him, though, so fans will trust that Steve Sarkisian and his coaching staff can devise a winning game plan against slumping Mississippi State (4-3). The Longhorns will likely need a healthy Colin Simmons for road matchups versus Missouri and LSU, so for their sake, hopefully another week off would be enough.