Will Texas rebound this week? Can the Falcons defeat the (so far) perfect 49ers? Here's what I'm on this week for my favorite 'dogs.
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The discussions about Texas quarterback Arch Manning going No. 1 overall in the NFL draft have now shifted to a conversation about whether he can maintain his job as the starter. Last week, Texas suffered its second straight loss at home, this time as a big favorite against Florida.
It was a game in that Texas led 17-3 at one point. In the brief history of the 12-team College Football Playoff, no team has ever gotten an at-large bid with three regular-season losses. Perhaps that changes this year, but it’s fair to say the Longhorns are possibly fighting for their Playoff hopes when they take on Ole Miss on Saturday.
At the risk of being overly simplistic, I’m going with the upset here because Ole Miss has a far superior quarterback in Trinidad Chambliss, and nothing about Manning's struggles seem fluky. It doesn't seem like whatever's going on with him will be fixed in a week. The Ole Miss defense is also coming off its strongest effort, holding an explosive Missouri offense to just three points last week in a dominant win.
I’ll take Ole Miss to pull off the upset and put Texas' Playoff hopes on life support. There are not a ton of intriguing options this week for an upset pick, and there aren’t many big spreads to choose from. So I’ll go with the mini-upset pick here and take the Falcons to defeat the unbeaten 49ers.
The 49ers have a short week of prep, having just played on Monday Night Football, and now travel on the road to play a Falcons team desperate for a win. San Francisco is decimated at the wide receiver position, with future Hall of Famer Mike Evans being the latest injury. Evans joins fellow wide receivers Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, De’Zhaun Stribling, Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall among the pass catchers who are hurt and unavailable for this game.
A team this banged up losing on the road shouldn’t come as a shock. I like the Falcons to introduce the 49ers to the loss column for the first time in 2026.
