Oklahoma is the common opponent, and that comparison doesn't help Mississippi State. The Sooners beat Texas by 3. A week later they went to Starkville and put up a season-high 467 yards on the Bulldogs, with John Mateer throwing for a season-high 283. Mississippi State's defense has been the issue for most of October: 56 allowed to Alabama, 31 at LSU, then all that yardage against Oklahoma.
A month ago Mississippi State looked like a different team. The Bulldogs won 41-34 at South Carolina and then beat Missouri 31-24 at home, and they were scoring plenty. Since then they've scored 23 against Alabama, 0 at LSU and 15 against Oklahoma, and the quarterback injuries line up with that drop. A healthy Taylor makes this a more interesting game than the last 3 results suggest. Without him, Mississippi State is a road team relying on a walk-on against a defense that just stopped a top-10 offense on the final play.
Texas has injuries of its own to watch. Guard T. Goosby is out with no timetable, DL C. Simmons (ankle) and WR D. McCutcheon (illness) have been questionable, and Mississippi State still has 2 receivers and its lead running back on its own list. The early forecast says around 80 degrees and cloudy with light wind, which shouldn't affect much. This game should be decided by Taylor's health and by whether Texas can keep a lead without another late scare.