Texas seemingly entered into SEC play in 2024 at just the right time with freshly-minted NIL legislation opening the door for the well-heeled program to take advantage of its financial resources.

Fast forward 2 1/2 seasons, and the Longhorns (4-2, 1-2 SEC) are on the brink of elimination from making the College Football Playoff.

Only two programs have made the previous 12-team CFP fields with three losses: 2024 Clemson made it with the ACC’s automatic bid after winning the league’s title game, and 2025 Alabama made the CFP after appearing in (and losing) in the SEC championship game.

But Texas, with two SEC losses already, can’t afford another loss if its to make the SEC title game or earn an at-large bid, which raises the stakes on the Longhorns Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) home game with Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1).

Coach Steve Sarkisian, who has entered into job security speculation with the notion he might miss the CFP field in consecutive years, said “everything is gonna be evaluated,” when ask if he considered benching Arch Manning.

Manning was 14-of-20 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown in Texas’ 27-24 home loss to Florida on Saturday.

The Rebels have something to play for against Texas, too.

Ole Miss joins Kentucky and Vanderbilt as the only schools that were in the league in 1992 when the SEC championship game was added that have yet to play in it.

The 2026 SEC Championship Game might be the last one in history, as a new 24-team CFP field format which calls for the elimination of league title games is pending final approval.

Ole Miss plays host to Auburn after its game this Saturday at Texas, followed by a home game against No. 5-ranked Georgia on Nov. 7

LSU is another program under heavy scrutiny that’s looking to avoid another league loss as it travels to play Auburn in a noon game.

The Bayou Bengals (5-2, 2-2) have been a banged-up bunch, but Coach Lane Kiffin’s team is still favored to beat Alex Golesh’s Tigers after their upset win over Georgia.

“There ain’t any team in America that has more significant players standing on the sideline than us, so not a lot of pity there,” Kiffin said after LSU blasted a Mississippi State team missing starting QB Kamario Taylor on Saturday, 31-0.

“Last night’s speech to the team, last thing I said, which I never usually say, ‘We have to win. We have to win (Saturday).”

Tennessee at South Carolina offers perhaps the most perplexing betting line among the SEC games, as the Vols are only a 1.5-point favorite after their impressive 26-10 win over previously No. 6-ranked Alabama.

The Gamecocks were all but left for dead after squandering double-digit halftime leads over Mississippi State and Kentucky in back-to-back losses before traveling to Gainesville and stunning Florida 38-19 on Oct. 10.

South Carolina got an extra weekend of rest on Saturday, sitting idle, and figures to be charged up for its 3:30 p.m. home game against Tennessee.

Here’s a look at the betting lines for games involving SEC teams, via the FanDuel Sportsbook:

LSU -6.5 at Auburn

Oklahoma -2.5 at Mississippi State,

Texas A&M at Alabama -15.5

Tennessee -1.5 at South Carolina

Vanderbilt at Kentucky -10.5

Ole Miss at Texas -3.5