State of Texas Power Rankings: Week Eight

There is one ranked team in Texas.

One.

Uno.

Additionally, Iowa State is ranked, and schools like Texas, Texas A&M, and Florida State are not. These are crazy times my friends, simply crazy.

It was a rough week around the state, as several teams coming off of big wins in week seven plummeted back to earth in week eight. Heartbreak abounded as well, and it’s getting harder and harder to establish the pecking order after the top spot.

1. TCU (7-0): Sure, it was Kansas. But, what the Frogs did to a Power Five team on Saturday night under the lights is the kind of thing you shouldn’t allow your children to watch. TCU finally put away Kansas like you should put away Kansas, and can now focus on a meat grinder of a schedule, starting with the suddenly horrifying trip to Ames, Iowa to face a Cyclones team that hasn’t been ranked in well over a decade. This is fine. Regardless, the Frogs are the class of Texas, and can make a statement for being the class of College Football if they can win their third game against a ranked opponent on the season and their fourth power five game on the road.
2. Texas A&M (5-2): The Aggies are a whisper away from being 6-1 and just a handful of votes from being ranked, but how good are they, really? With a suddenly plummeting Mississippi State coming to town this week, we might not find out, but a sure victory would almost certainly move them into the Top 25 and get people talking about Texas (A&M) being back. That’s the good news. The bad news? The matchup with the Bulldogs is the Aggies last game in October, and we all know what happens in November.
3. Texas (3-4): I mean, who do you want to see here? The corpse of Houston, who had its heart ripped out by Riley Ferguson? Texas Tech? Who got obliterated for the second straight year by Iowa State, this time on their home field? Or Texas, who is running the table on moral victories but may have lost their QB to a concussion? And if they haven’t yet, they probably will if they allow him to keep taking hits. I give the edge to the Longhorns, simply because their defense is one of the top two in the state, and they made Mason Rudolph look highly human. That seems to happen when he plays competent teams that can rush the passer, just saying.
4. SMU (5-2): I am two weeks early on the Ponies, but I am telling you right now, the Frogs’ win over the Mustangs will be the jewel on their crown should they need something good out of conference to give them an edge down the line. This SMU team isn’t great, by any means, but they are more than competent, have a ton of exciting, young pieces, and should they manage to keep Chad Morris one more season, they will win the AAC. Shoot, they might mess around and do that this year, if Ben Hicks continues to improve and the defense gets just one more stop than their opponent per game.
5. Houston (4-3): Things were looking so good for Major Applewhite early, but a string of ugly losses and blown victories have taken the shine off of the rookie head coach. The defense, one loaded with talent, can’t stop anyone, and the offense is suffering through an injury slog that has rendered them sloppy. The Coogs gamely snatched defeat from the jaw of victory on the big stage, surrendering 21 points in both the third and fourth quarters to a very good offense, no doubt - but still. This team just isn’t as good without Kyle Allen, but he doesn’t play D, and if they want to get back to their winning ways, that’s the first thing they need to fix.
6. Texas Tech (4-3): Iowa State is very good, that has been established. But the Red Raiders have now been humiliated in back-to-back years by the Cyclones, this time on their home field and just days after being ranked themselves. I have been telling y’all all year that Nik Shimonek just isn’t that good, and it seems that is being bared true now. Tech might not be done done this year, but they just aren’t that good, on either side of the ball. A plethora pf playmakers keeps them dangerous, but the question is, will Kliffy get to deploy them much longer?
7. North Texas (4-3): WTF, Mean Green? After steadily climbing up the rankings throughout the season, UNT laid a big ol’ egg against Lane Kiffin Saturday, getting brow beat on both sides of the ball as they surrendered over 800 yards and 69 (nice) points to FAU. It was the Eagles’ first conference loss, and they certainly aren’t out of the race, but they should be for that “defensive” performance.
8. UTSA (4-2): I really believed in the Roadrunners, but since going public with my praise, they have done nothing but let me down, over and over again. An ugly win over Rice does little to soothe my disappointment, but a W is a W, I suppose.
9. Baylor (0-7): Is there anything better than seeing Bear fans on twitter laud their team for being the best winless team in the country? I don’t care enough to look up which teams are winless so far this season (okay, I do care but that information wasn’t as easy to find as I anticipated), but is that a distinction you really want to go bragging about? Sure, the Bears have given all opponents can handle in a few games this year, most recently putting the fear of god into West Virginia with a furious comeback that fell a two-point conversion short of OT, but at the end of the day, is being better than oh, say, UTEP, something to be proud of? Whatever helps you sleep at night, friends.
10. Rice (1-6): They scored against UTSA. That’s something to build on. I suppose.
11. Texas State (1-6): The Bobcats are bad at football. If we had relegation in the FBS, they would be replaced by Sam Houston State. And frankly, SHSU would probably be doing better in 2017.
12. UTEP (0-7): The Miners will not be arguing that they are the best 0-7 team of the decade, that’s for sure.