Break out the red string, thumbtacks and conspiracy board. We’ve got a mystery to solve.
Why does the number 24 keep showing up whenever Texas plays somebody good?
And why, of all possible dates, are the Longhorns playing Ole Miss on October 24?
Coincidence? Almost certainly. But where’s the fun in that?
Let’s examine the evidence.
Against Power Four opponents this season, Texas has scored 24 points against Ohio State, 20 against Tennessee, 24 against Oklahoma and 24 against Florida.
Three games with exactly 24 points and one with fewer. Not once have the Longhorns reached 25.
And, of course, the last two 24-point performances resulted in losses.
Are you seeing the pattern yet? Because we’re just getting started.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, has scored at least 28 points in all six games this season. Even in its disastrous 52-28 loss to Florida, the Rebels managed four touchdowns.
That raises a rather interesting question: Could beating Texas really be as simple as scoring 25 points?
Before anyone starts scribbling the number 24 across the walls like Jim Carrey in The Number 23, there’s another piece of evidence worth considering.
Ole Miss has made exactly 24 trips into the red zone this season.
And scored on every single one.
Twenty-four opportunities. Twenty-four scores.
Of those possessions, 21 resulted in touchdowns, giving the Rebels an impressive 87.5% touchdown rate.
Someone grab another piece of red string because this conspiracy stretches to the other side of this matchup, too.
Texas hasn’t allowed more than 27 points in any game this season.
That’s right. Ole Miss hasn’t scored fewer than 28. Texas hasn’t surrendered more than 27. Something has to give Saturday night.
Of course, the Longhorns’ defense deserves some respect. Texas allows just 17.8 points and 272.5 yards per game.
And even those numbers don’t entirely illustrate how good the defense has been.
Oklahoma scored 27 points against Texas, but two touchdowns came on a blocked punt return and an interception return. The Sooners’ offense managed just 13 points.
That’s rather inconvenient for our developing theory, so like a “good” politician, we’ll ignore it.
There’s also no guarantee Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian won’t find a way to get the Longhorns’ offense rolling Saturday. After all, this is the same Texas team that defeated then-No. 1 Ohio State earlier this season.
Still, the numbers are difficult to ignore.
Texas has scored exactly 24 points in three of its four games against Power Four opponents.
Ole Miss has scored on all 24 of its red-zone possessions.
And they’re playing on Oct. 24.
Perhaps the universe is trying to tell us something. Or perhaps we’ve spent entirely too much time staring at football statistics and need to get outside.
