Texas FBS Rankings week 10

The red-hot Houston Cougars continue to climb up the rankings and could soon challenge for No. 1

Tyler Frisby
Oct 31, 2018, 7:06 am
UH continues its ascent in the rankings. Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

No. 12: UTEP

The story remains the same for a UTEP team that has held their position as the worst FBS team in Texas all season. The Miners lost to UAB in week 9 to fall to 0-8. UTEP may have a glimpse of hope in Week 10 as they are set to face off against the second worst team in the Texas FBS rankings, the 1-8 Rice Owls.

No. 11: Rice

The Owls once again found themselves extremely outmatched in Week 9 as they lost 41-17 to the University of North Texas. Rice will get its best chance at breaking their eight-game losing streak vs. winless UTEP, but nothing is guaranteed with either of these teams.

No. 10: Texas State

The Bobcats finally got another notch in their win column in week 9 with a 27-20 victory over New Mexico State. Texas State hopes to carry this momentum into week 10 when they face off against a 2-6 Georgia State team that is on a three-game losing skid.

No. 9: UTSA

After falling in Week 9 to an average Southern Miss team 27-17, the Roadrunners may have very well seen their last chance at securing another victory this season pass them by. Not one of UTSA’s final four opponents on their schedule has lost more than two games so far this season and have a combined record of 25-7.

No. 8: TCU

It is official, the Horned Frogs have hit rock bottom by their standards. TCU lost their its game in a row in Week 9 when they were upset by the Kansas Jayhawks 27-26. Without quarterback Shawn Robinson on the field it is hard to imagine things turning around at this point in the season. The big question at hand now is, could this be the end of the Gary Patterson era?

No. 7: SMU

The Mustang’s jump their Fort Worth counterparts TCU in this week’s rankings. SMU took the 7-1 Cincinnati Bearcats to overtime but lost in devastating fashion when the Bearcats returned an interception for a touchdown to escape the upset. The Mustangs have had a slight revival in the second half of their season, but Week 10 will be tough sledding when they face off with No.17 Houston. This move up in the rankings will most likely be short lived.

No. 6: Baylor

It was no surprise, but the Bears were easily handled by No. 12 West Virginia in a 58-14 loss. Baylor has a tough Week 10 matchup with an Oklahoma State team that is coming off a thrilling upset over the Texas Longhorns who were on a six-game winning streak. While the Bears are talented enough to keep up with the Cowboys, they will also have the benefit of home field advantage. Look for this game to be a high scoring affair with plenty of big plays to go around.

No. 5: UNT

With the help of a 21-point fourth quarter, the Mean Green were able to put away the seemingly helpless Rice Owls. UNT has another easy matchup in Week 10 when they face off against the 2-7 Old Dominion Monarchs. Due to the weakness of their opponents for the duration of their schedule, it will be difficult for North Texas to gain much more ground moving forward but winning out the rest of their season will keep them in decent bowl game consideration.

No. 4: Texas Tech

The Red Raiders fell to 5-3 after losing to the red-hot Iowa State Cyclones. Quarterback Alan Bowman had arguably his first let down performance of his freshman campaign, throwing three interceptions and just one touchdown. Texas Tech now has its toughest matchup of their season awaiting them in the form of No. 7 Oklahoma. Tech will have to be firing on all cylinders if they hope to avoid suffering their fourth loss of the season.

No. 3: Texas A&M

The Aggies sputtered in Week 9 and dropped to No.25 in the nation as well as one place in this week’s rankings. For arguably the first time this season A&M’s defense failed to hold its own but did not receive much support from their offensive counterparts either. A&M will need to get back on track quickly if the Aggies hope to bounce back with a win over the dangerous Auburn Tigers in Week 10. Two big focal points for the Aggies will be make a statement on defense and re-establishing their typically reliable rushing attack.

No. 2: Houston

After yet another powerful performance in week 9, the No.17 Cougars jump up to the No.2 spot in these Texas FBS rankings. Houston dominated the undefeated South Florida Bulls 57-36 with the help of a Heisman type performance from quarterback D’Eriq King. King put up over 500 total yards and 7 touchdowns, giving football fans all over the country flashback memories of one of the most thrilling quarterbacks of all time, Michael Vick. The Cougars will look to continue their five-game winning streak against the 3-5 SMU Mustangs in week 10 and continue to climb the national rankings.

No. 1: Texas

Despite suffering their first loss since Week 1 and dropping nine spots in the national rankings, the Longhorns are still able to hold onto their position as the No.1 team in Texas. While Texas struggled the entire game to contain the Cowboy’s offence, they were still able to make a thrilling comeback before falling just three points short when the clock struck zero. UT has no time to linger in the past or worry about what could have been, because No.12 West Virginia is chomping at the bit to knock the Longhorns down another notch. Texas will need its defense to have a bounce back week and find motivation in their ugly Week 9 performance if they have any hope of containing gunslinger Will Grier.


 

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HIGH HOPES

How the Houston Astros respect level just went up a notch

This year, the Astros are favored to win the World Series. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

When the umpire yells "play ball!" on Thursday for Astros opening day, three players- a full third of their batting order - will be missing from their opening day lineup from last year when, oh yeah, they won the World Series. Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley are on the injured list and Yuli Gurriel effectively was told good luck in your future endeavors. Other notables from last year no longer with the Astros: Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, Aledmys Diaz, Christian Vasquez, and Jake Odorizzi.

That's on top of the Astros in recent years saying goodbye to All-Stars Gerrit Cole, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Charlie Morton. Don't underestimate Morton's contribution when he pitched for the Astros in 2017-18. He went 29-10 and won Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, that's all.

And while the team keeps on winning at a historic pace, all these injuries and departures are going to catch up to the Astros one of these years.

But this ain't the year. The Astros demolished baseball last year, winning their division by 16 games and roaring through the postseason going 11-2, including sweeps of the Mariners and Yankees.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Astros as the (+600) preseason betting favorite to repeat as World Series champs in 2023, followed by the New York Yankees (+650), Los Angeles Dodgers (+750), New York Mets (+750), Atlanta Braves (+1000) and San Diego Padres (+1000).

It's a different scene from 2022 when the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees and even the Toronto Blue Jays all were preseason favorites over the Astros to win the World Series. In other words, Mattress Mack will load up on the Astros again this season and hopefully visit the pay window again. He just may not get the gross national product, all-time payout he got last year. Poor guy. Mack's already put down $1.9 million on the Astros, a commitment that's likely to increase as the Astros plow through the season.

The over/under wins total for the Astros is 95.5. That's a good number for an FM radio station, but the Astros should blow by that total in mid-September. The Astros won 106 games last year, and at least 100 wins in four of the last five full seasons. I wonder if Mack has room in his car for next time he drives to Louisiana to make a bet. I call shotgun!

While Altuve and Brantley sit on the wounded list Thursday, and Gurriel is wearing a Miami Marlins uniform, one thing will be the same as Opening Day last year. Framber Valdez, the Astros' quality start machine, will be on the mound against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park. The game will start at 6:08 p.m., airing on ESPN. Get there early to watch the Astros unfurl another World Series banner. Remember that AT&T SportsNet gets benched when ESPN does an Astros game. Bummer. Blummer. ESPN also has the April 16 game against the Rangers and the April 30 rematch with the Phillies.

How did Valdez perform Opening Day 2022? As it would turn out all season, typical Valdez: 6.2 innings, no runs, only two unproductive hits, one walk, six K's and he got the W. Final score:, Astros 3, Los Angeles Angels 1. Valdez started, got the win, Pressly pitched the ninth, got the save. Sound familiar? Lather, rinse, repeat. The opposing pitcher that game - some under-publicized fellow named Shohei Ohtani. It wasn't Ohtani's day. While he pitched ok, surrendering four hits and one run over 4.1 innings, he took the loss. Ohtani also went 0-4 at the plate.

The Astros won Game 2 of that series, 13-6, behind Odorizzi and a battalion of relievers. The Angels exacted revenge in Game 3, a 2-0 shutout with Noah Syndergaard starting. Verlander, despite giving up only one run over five innings, absorbed the loss.

Of course games will look different this season with no infield shift, bigger bases and a pitch timer. The only thing that will look the same - the standings. Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez will salivate when they don't hit screamers through the infield only to be thrown out by second basemen playing short right field. Altuve's fractured thumb should heal in time for the future Hall of Famer to return in early June. Brantley could be back in May. Lance McCullers is anybody's guess, but time heals all wounds, including elbows.

The Astros are riding a dynasty-level of success, you know the numbers, six consecutive postseason appearances (only team in MLB history to win a postseason series six straight seasons), six ALCS appearances in a row, four World Series appearances, two championships.

There's no reason to stop now.

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