Mississippi State loses QB Kamario Taylor for the season to toe surgery

Mississippi State has lost sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor for the rest of the season. He needs surgery on the toe he injured against Missouri on Sept. 26, ESPN reported Tuesday, and the school expects him to make a full recovery. Parker Puckett takes over as the starter, according to CBS Sports.

Taylor spent a month trying to play through the injury. He started against Alabama on Oct. 3 and left early, missed the 31-0 loss at LSU on Oct. 17, and then came back against Oklahoma last Saturday. He hurt the toe again in the first quarter of that game and did not return. ESPN reported that he pushed hard to keep playing, but rest was not getting him back to a level where he could be effective.

Coach Jeff Lebby told ESPN that "nobody wants to be on that field more than Kamario." Taylor finishes the season with 17 touchdown passes, 1,460 passing yards and a completion rate above 65 percent. CBS Sports noted that the 17 touchdowns still lead the SEC even after the missed time. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Macon native led the Bulldogs to a 4-0 start that included road wins at Minnesota and South Carolina, and ESPN described him as a possible top pick in the 2028 NFL draft.

The drop-off without him has been steep. Mississippi State averaged 43 points across its first four games. In the last two it has scored 15 points combined, and CBS Sports reported that all 15 against Oklahoma came after Taylor left. One piece of good news for Puckett is that running back Fluff Bothwell is expected back this week. CBS Sports reported he has 514 rushing yards on 91 carries after missing the Oklahoma game.

What it means at Texas

Puckett's first start comes Saturday at No. 11 Texas, on ESPN. The Bulldogs are 4-3 and have lost three straight: 56-23 to No. 7 Alabama, 31-0 at No. 22 LSU and 23-15 to Oklahoma. After Austin, they host Vanderbilt, Auburn and Tennessee Tech before the Egg Bowl at Ole Miss. CBS Sports pointed to that home stretch as the team's best chance to reach bowl eligibility.

The board for Mississippi State at Texas has Texas as a heavy favorite across 12 venues. Novig has the Longhorns favored at -1076 on the moneyline and the Bulldogs at +953. On the spread, Novig lists Texas at -20.5, priced at -102 on each side. The most favorable Texas spread among the venues is theScore Bet's -19.5 at -115, so the spread differs by one point from venue to venue. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 3.8 to 7.0 percent.

The total sits at 50.5 at most venues. Novig prices the over at -111 and the under at +106. Pinnacle has the best over at -109, and Fanatics has the under at 51. That total is lower than the Bulldogs' early-season scoring would have suggested, which reflects an offense that has scored one touchdown in its last eight quarters since losing its quarterback.