Texas continues to rule the state. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
No. 12: Rice
The Owls took yet another beating on Saturday when they were defeated 42-10 by LSU. Rice will have one more chance to break their 11-game losing streak when they face-off against an Old Dominion team who has won three of their last four games.
No. 11: UTEP
Despite a big performance by quarterback Brandon Jones, in which he threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, the Miners could not keep up with Western Kentucky in Week 12. UTEP will look to end the season on a positive note by claiming their second win of the season vs. an average Southern Mississippi team.
No. 10: UTSA
UTSA has struggled mightily to score points during their five-game losing streak. Through those five losses the Roadrunners have scored just 30 points compared to their opponents 178. Things are not looking good heading into their final game of the season where they will go against a North Texas team who has averaged 37 points per-game this season.
No. 9: Texas State
The Bobcats fell just five points short of securing their fourth win of the season against the 9-2 Troy Trojans. Texas State will have their hands full in week 13 against the Arkansas State Red Wolves who have scored an average of 41 points in their last five games.
No. 8: TCU
The Horned Frogs secured a win over Baylor in Week 12 to give themselves some momentum heading into their end of the season matchup with Oklahoma State. While winning two of their last three games is an encouraging sign, TCU has failed to score more than 17 points in any of those last three games. This means the Horned Frogs could have a hard time keeping up with the explosive and offensive dominant Oklahoma State Cowboys.
No. 7: Baylor
Despite going up against a wounded TCU team, Baylor was unable to get their sixth win of the season. While their defense held the Horned Frogs to just 16 points, the Bears offense could not find their groove. Baylor will have a tough matchup against the talented Red Raiders to wrap up the season. The Bears should not be counted out of this matchup considering the inconsistency shown by Texas Tech all season.
No. 6: Texas Tech
The Red Raiders drop out of the top five after suffering their fourth straight defeat. Texas Tech looked lost last weekend against a Kansas State team who most people expected them to handle with ease. With head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s job is possibly on the line Tech will have a lot to play for when they take on a dangerous Baylor team to finish the season.
No. 5: SMU
SMU climbs up three spots in this week’s rankings to land a spot in the top five for the first time this season. After starting the year with three losses, the Mustangs have been fighting to regain respect and relevance. SMU will be optimistic heading into their final game against a Tulsa team who has only won two games all season.
No. 4: UNT
After a surprise loss in Week 11 the Mean Green bounced back with a strong win over Florida Atlantic this past weekend. Running back DeAndre Torrey set the tone for the North Texas offense as he gashed the Owls defense for 184 yards rushing and completed his third game in a row of at least 130 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. UNT should be able to pat their stats to finish the season when they go up against the 3-8 UTSA Roadrunners.
No. 3: Houston
Coming off an upset loss to Temple where the Cougars defense was non-present, Houston torched Tulane and only allowed 17 points. With an 8-3 record the Cougars are leading their half of the conference and will play for the West title against Memphis. If Houston can take care of their business for one more week, the season should be deemed a success.
No. 2: Texas A&M
While UAB put up a good fight, the Blazers ended up being no match for Texas A&M. The Aggies led the entire game on their way to a 41-20 victory which gave them their seventh win of the season. A&M will finish their season with a big matchup vs. No. 7 LSU. The Tigers have had a dominant season and have an exceptional 4-1 record in their last five games with their only loss coming to No. 1 Alabama. With this said, LSU has been proven to be inconsistent offensively at times this season, so if the Aggies can jump out to an early lead, they might just have enough firepower to knock off their top 10 opponent.
No. 1: Texas
With their 8-3 record the Longhorns hold onto their No. 1 spot for the eighth week in a row. After a close call vs. the Red Raiders, the Longhorns left no doubt in their final home game of the season when they defeated Iowa State 24-10. It was an emotional senior night in Austin as players saw their dreams of a shot at the Big 12 championship come to life. Texas is in line to face off against either Oklahoma or West Virginia in the Big 12 title game if they can close out their season with a win over Kansas in week 13. There is no doubt that Texas is the more talented team, but the Jayhawks put up an impressive fight against Oklahoma in week 12 and will be looking for a chance to knock off the Longhorns.
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Jets interview Houston Texans coordinator for their head coach vacancy
Jan 17, 2025, 3:11 pm
When DeMeco Ryans became coach of the Houston Texans before last season, the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker brought his swarm defense with him.
It’s an identity the Texans have embraced as they prepare for their second straight trip to the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs.
“You really can’t go out there if you’re not about it,” Ryans said.
And while every member of the defense has bought into Ryans’ aggressive style, there is one player who epitomizes it like no one else.
“Will every time,” cornerback Derek Stingley said of defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
Anderson, last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, has taken his game to another level this season and had 1½ sacks last week after piling up 11 in the regular season.
He described what playing swarm defense means to him.
“Do whatever it takes to get the ball, attacking the ball,” Anderson said. “We’ve got this saying in our D-line room; ‘who gonna pop it off?’ Whoever pops it off first, that’s swarming. Like who’s gonna make the big play? And I feel like there’s a lot of guys on defense that pop it off, who swarm.”
The Texans intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times, including one which was returned for a score, in last week’s win over the Chargers after he had been picked off just three times all season. Houston’s four takeaways in the first week of the playoffs are tied with Philadelphia for most in the NFL.
That performance came after Houston ranked fifth in the league in the regular season by forcing 29 turnovers.
Stingley, who had two of the interceptions last week a day after earning AP All-Pro honors, shared his mindset on the team’s defensive mentality.
“It really just comes down to if I was to tell you this is the last time you’re gonna do something, how you gonna do it,” Stingley said. “It’s simple as that. Just do that every single play.”
Ryans said there’s really no secret to why his team has such a knack for forcing turnovers. He believes it’s because he has good players, and they emphasize it in practice which translates to games.
“That’s our main thing that we go into every week is talking about attacking the football, taking the football,” Ryans said. “Because we know, when you take the football away, it just raises your percentages of winning the football games… it’s the defense helping the team win the game.”
While all of Houston’s takeaways last week came on interceptions, Stingley was quick to point out that those picks wouldn’t have happened if not for the pressure the defensive line put on Herbert. The Texans sacked him four times and hit him another nine in the 32-12 victory.
“The defense starts with them up front,” Stingley said. “They’re doing their job and it just makes it easier for us on the back end.”
Anderson said with each turnover, the defense got more and more amped up and was pushing each other to see who the next player would be to force one.
“That’s just that swarm mentality and we just feeding off each other,” Anderson said. “This person can’t do it by themselves so who is gonna be next and that just generates that contagious energy.”
The Texans were the fifth team since 1963 to have at least four sacks, four interceptions and an interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game last week. The past three teams to do it all went on to win the Super Bowl, with Tampa Bay doing so in the 2002 season, Baltimore in 2000 and San Francisco in 1989.
This Texans team would love to keep that going. But first they’ll need a win Saturday to put them in the AFC championship game for the first time after losing their previous five divisional matchups.
“That’s what you come here for,” Anderson said. “That’s what they’ve been rebuilding for is moments like this… we’ve got all the right pieces, we’ve just got to go out there and make it happen.”