Texas FBS rankings week 11

The Cougars fall short in their chance to take their place as the No. 1 program in Texas

Tyler Frisby
Nov 7, 2018, 6:45 am
Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorns kept the top spot. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

Texas has 12 FBS teams. Each week we rank them based on season-long performance, the prior game, and success relative to their competition. These are the updated rankings following Week 10 and looking forward to Week 11.

No. 12: Rice

For the first time this season a new team takes over as the worst FBS program in Texas. The Rice Owls have done so by losing to the UTEP Miners 34-26 this past weekend and now have failed to win a game since their victory in week 1.

No. 11: UTEP

While moving up to the eleventh ranked team in Texas may not be an impressive achievement it is reason to celebrate for a UTEP team who just saw their first win in almost two full years. The Miners most likely will not win another game this season, but at least they were able to break their winless curse.

No. 10: UTSA

The Roadrunners drop one spot in this week’s rankings after being dominated by UAB 52-3. UTSA has now lost their last three games and will head into a matchup against the 6-3 FIU Panthers that does not look promising.

No. 9: Texas State

Believe it or not by the Texas State Bobcats are on a two-game winning streak. The Bobcats took down Georgia State 40-31 to improve their record to 3-6. Texas State has a difficult task ahead of them in Week 11 when they face off with 6-2 Appalachian State. One bright spot that can be taken from this upcoming matchup is the fact that App State lost by 20 points to a Georgia Southern team that the Bobcats came just two points away from defeating in Week 7.

No. 8: TCU

For the second week in a row the Horned Frogs sit in the No. 8 spot. TCU squeaked by Kansas State last weekend in an unimpressive 14-13 victory. The Horned Frogs continue to struggle to find any dependable offensive production since the loss of quarterback Shawn Robinson but are glad to get back into the win column after suffering three straight losses. TCU will likely have little hope in their Week 11 matchup against No. 9 West Virginia.

No. 7: SMU

The Mustangs redeemed themselves after a heartbreaking overtime loss in Week 9 by notching a big win over the extremely talented Houston Cougars. SMU’s defense showed up in a big way last Saturday when they held star quarterback D’Eriq King to under 200 yards passing. The Mustangs should be able to collect their fifth win of the season this coming weekend as they go up against a very porous Connecticut team who has won just one game all year.

No. 6: Texas Tech

The Red Raiders were unable to move up from the No. 6 spot despite their very impressive performance against one of the best teams in the nation. Texas Tech came up just five points short against No. 6 Oklahoma which made it difficult to keep them idle in this week’s rankings. Despite the urges to reward Tech for their showing this past Saturday, it is hard to overlook the fact that they have lost their last two games. The Red Raiders will have another chance to make a statement in week 11 against the No. 19 Longhorns but will need quarterback Alan Bowman to stay on the field if they hope to complete the upset this time around.

No. 5: Baylor

Baylor jumped up to the Top 5 in this week’s ranking after a big win over Oklahoma State. The Bears were able to hold off the Cowboys 35-31 to collect their fifth win of the season, despite not even eclipsing 200 yards passing. Baylor has a big matchup against the 23rd ranked Iowa State Cyclones in Week 11 who have been on a four-game tear, dominating some of the top teams in the Big 12.

No. 4: UNT

North Texas moves up one spot after gathering their seventh win of the season. While UNT’s win over Rice was a seemingly unimpressive feat, the Mean Green were able to move up in this week’s rankings due to losses by some of the top tier teams on this list. UNT should be able to easily secure their eighth win in week 11 when they face off against the 2-7 Old Dominion Monarchs.

No. 3: Texas A&M

The Aggies suffered their second consecutive loss and fourth of the season in week 10 after falling to the Auburn Tigers 28-24. A&M was able to get back to their normal form offensively, but their defense continues to be their downfall. Unfortunately for Texas A&M the SEC is an extremely even conference this season as only one team has less than four wins and A&M has a dangerous matchup with a high flying Ole Miss offense in week 11. The Aggies now find themselves tip toeing the edge of relevance in the 2018 college football season.

No. 2: Houston

While the Cougars looked to have a promising opportunity to overtake the No. 1 spot in this week’s rankings, they blew their shot with a big loss to SMU. Houston had been one of the hottest and most exciting teams as of late, after going on an impressive five game winning streak. Luckily their loss did not cause them to fall in this week’s rankings because of losses by both Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The Cougars will line up against a sneaky Temple team in Week 11 and cannot afford to take another game for granted.

No. 1: Texas

The Longhorns lost in heartbreaking fashion in week 10 when West Virginia quarterback Will Grier threw a last-minute touchdown to steal the win out from under them. Despite their loss, UT was able to hold their title as the No. 1 team in Texas because of losses suffered by the next three teams in line to take over: Houston, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The Longhorns will hope to bring an end to their two-game losing streak with a win against rival Texas Tech, who always puts up a good fight.


 

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WELCOME BACK?

In a surprise twist, A.J. Hinch could be back sooner than we thought

Composite photo by Jack Brame

Former Astros manager Andrew Jay Hinch is on a short list of candidates to become manager of the Detroit Tigers in 2021.

The question is, after being suspended and later fired for his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal, does A.J. Hinch deserve to manage again in baseball?

It's weird to think because so much has happened in 2020, but Hinch was suspended and fired only nine months ago. His banishment, however, ends in a matter of weeks with the final out of the upcoming World Series. At that point, he will be available to manage the Tigers or any other team. There's a possibility that the Mets are interested. Some were hoping it'd be the Astros, but the Astros are committed to manager Dusty Baker for next year. After that … never say never.

Shortly after getting the Astros ax, Hinch went on MLB TV and apologized for his role in the Astros cheating scandal. Although baseball's investigation said the garbage can banging scheme was "with the exception of (Astros coach Alex) Cora, player-driven and player-executed," Hinch took responsibility as manager and didn't challenge his punishment. No players were punished.

"I still feel responsible and will always feel responsible as the man out front," Hinch said. "As the leader, I was in charge of the team. I put out a statement to apologize. But there is something different to doing it on camera and putting a face to an apology, and saying I'm sorry to the league, to baseball, to fans, to players, to the coaches.

"It happened on my watch. I'm not proud of that. I'll never be proud of it. I didn't like it. But I have to own it. And the commissioner's office made very, very clear that the GM and the manager were in position to make sure that nothing like this happened. And we fell short."

In effect, while Hinch didn't authorize or participate in the sign-stealing scandal, he didn't do enough (really anything) to stop it. He is the rare case of being a guilty bystander.

To be clear, Hinch has not been offered the Detroit manager job. However, he has more experience and more wins under his belt than most of the other candidates being considered.

Hinch's reputation is blemished, but his credentials can't be disputed. During his five years as Astros manager, the team never had a losing season, won 100 or more games three times, including a team record 107 wins last year, made the playoffs three times and won a World Series.

Has baseball forgiven Hinch, and does he deserve another chance to manage in the big leagues? This is America, the land of forgiveness and second chances.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

Hinch knew his team was cheating and didn't do enough to stop it. There's no defense for that. But I think he's paid enough of a price to get back in baseball.

Mike Tyson raped a woman, went to jail, and now he's practically America's sweetheart. Hillary forgave Bill. We not only forgave Confederate leaders, we built schools and statues to honor them. Martha Stewart went to jail for insider trading, now she's back on TV baking crumpets. Ozzy Osbourne was arrested for pee'ing on a monument outside the Alamo, there is no more sacred place in Texas, and now he sells out concerts at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Pee-wee Herman, well, let's not say what he was caught doing, but he's planning to tour the U.S. celebrating the 35th anniversary of Pee-wee's Big Adventure movie.

Remember, Hinch was suspended for a year. It could have been worse. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has the power to ban people for life. Since becoming the commish, Manfred has permanently banished two people: former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa for hacking into the Astros computer database, and former Atlanta Braves general manager, John Coppolella for signing international players illegally.

Manfred also has temporarily banned Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for shouting inappropriate comments at female reporters last year. Taubman is eligible to apply for reinstatement after this year's World Series. However, if he commits one more violation of baseball rules, he will be banned for life.

Lifetime bans aren't as unusual as you might think. Since baseball's beginnings in the 1800s, dozens of players, managers and team owners have been banned, mostly, like Pete Rose and the Chicago Black Sox, for gambling-related offenses.

A.J. Hinch copped to his crime, suffered the consequences, now it's time for him to manage a baseball team again. It's not like he'd be landing a plum job with Detroit. The Tigers are out of this year's playoff picture. They lost 114 games last season. And were 64-98 the two years prior. Managing the Tigers will be punishment enough.

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