Texas Longhorns

OXFORD, Miss. -- Texas took to the road for the first time this season and also took to making some big plays. The Longhorns exploded for 31 first-half points, their most of the season, and led 31-10 at halftime. Texas has scored 14 points off two interceptions.

Stat of the half: Texas has had most of its success on the ground. The Longhorns rushed 22 times for 182 yards. Included in that total is Marquise Goodwin's 69-yard run. That is the longest run from scrimmage for a Texas player since Jamaal Charles went for 75 against Oklahoma State in 2007.

Player of the half: Quarterback David Ash threw two touchdown passes and engineered four scoring drives for Texas. The sophomore hit on a 47-yard pass to Goodwin, the longest pass play for Texas since the Baylor game in 2011. It was Ash's second-longest throw at Texas. He hit for 48 yards against Iowa State.

What's working for Texas: The Longhorns are getting solid defensive pressure on quarterback Bo Wallace. Texas has three sacks and both of Wallace's interceptions came when the quarterback was under duress.

What is not working for Texas: The Longhorns have been unable to stop Ole Miss on third down. Make that long third downs. The Rebels converted third downs of 18 and 17 yards on their two scoring drives. The first was a 30-yard pass play to set up a touchdown. The second came on a personal foul called on Jordan Hicks.

What Texas needs to do to keep winning: If the Longhorns continue to run the ball, they should continue to control the game. The Ole Miss defensive line has had trouble even staying in front of the offensive line of Texas. And the Texas defensive line has spent most of the night in the backfield of Ole Miss.

On Tuesday, the SEC dealt a big blow to Ole Miss' secondary when it suspended defensive back Trae Elston for Saturday's game against No. 14 Texas.

Commissioner Mike Slive announced that the suspension was due to the hit he put on UTEP receiver Jordan Leslie late in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's 28-10 win that was deemed "flagrant and dangerous." The SEC also said that Elston's hit was in violation of Rule 9-1-4 of the NCAA rulebook, which reads:

"No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder."

Rule 9-1-3 also states:

"No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet."

Elston had been a nice spark for the Rebels' defensive backfield and provided Ole Miss with some quality depth during the first two weeks. Now, against their toughest opponent yet, the Rebels will be without one of its most talented youngsters. Texas is only 69th in the nation in passing (averaging 220.5 yards through the first two games), but as far as talent goes, the Longhorns are on a different map compared to the first two teams Ole Miss faced.

It doesn't look like there will be a last-ditch effort to get Elston back, as there will be no appeals process.

"We are disappointed to lose Trae for this weekend, but we are moving forward as a team and focused on Texas," coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement.

Now, there will be a lot of debate going forward as to whether the hit was worthy of suspension. For starters, Elston wasn't flagged for the hit. It was clean in the eyes of the refs, though Leslie was on the ground for a few minutes before he got up.

On video, you can see that Leslie was bracing himself for the hit. He even pulled up short of making the catch at the goal line because he knew he was about to get laid out by Elston, who clearly wasn't interested in getting to the ball. He was looking to hit Leslie, but if Elston pulls up short and Leslie catches the ball, then people are scolding him for not making a play and allowing a score.

If Leslie catches the ball and Elston still hits him, is there still a suspension?

I understand that the league -- and the sport -- is trying to protect defenseless players. And in the wake of the head-to-head collision that caused Tulane safety Devon Walker to suffer a major spinal cord injury, it's no surprise that the SEC wants to make a statement about players leading with their heads. It's a major safety issue in this sport.

But consider Vanderbilt cornerback Andre Hal's hit on South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham. He was hit so hard by Hal that his helmet shot off. Hal was flagged for hitting a defenseless player above the shoulders, but there was no suspension.

Elston led with both his head and his shoulders, but his hit appeared to come below Leslie's head and his helmet hit after his shoulders. My only thought for why Elston was suspended and not Hal is because Leslie backed off of going for the ball at the last second. If he catches it and then takes the shot, I don't think we hear anything about it.

I'm just not sure the punishment fits the crime. The fact that his helmet comes into the hit after his shoulders makes it a tough call. Was Leslie defenseless? Yes, but so was Cunningham.