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12. RICE

This week was the first signs of life Rice has shown all season. They played Baylor close and they gave them a hard time. It's the first time all season we've felt like Rice had any intention of playing good football and that was a nice thing to see. Now if only they could win a game.

11. UTSA

So last week I said the game against North Texas would go a long way for UTSA determining what kind of season they wanted to have and they lost big time. This is a team looking for a way to throw in the towel and get off the field. They don't want to be here which is good because they're off this week.

10. TEXAS STATE

Texas State got a win and they play another winnable game this week against Nicholls. The true test of teams that want to be good is how they handle the games they are supposed to win. How do they prepare? How do they play and will they execute when they are expected to win. This is Texas State's opportunity to find out what kind of team they are.

9. UTEP

A rough home loss to Nevada and now having to travel to Southern Mississippi doesn't bode well for UTEP. This is a program in trouble and there's no real chance of saving it this week I think, this is going to hurt but there's nothing else they can do.

8. NORTH TEXAS

North Texas is a team going the wrong way. SMU has left the bottom half of the rankings behind and that all started with a good win against North Texas. Now Houston has come to town and if there was ever a time to turn the table, this is it. North Texas has a season to save and a game to win.

7. TEXAS TECH

Coming off the bye and facing Oklahoma is a tough task; Oklahoma has been having a great season and this isn't a game that Tech will come out of feeling good. It's basically a given they're going to lose, it's how they approach this game and how they execute that will set the tone for this season.

6. HOUSTON

Can this season get any weirder for Houston? Now their quarterback has opted to redshirt himself rather than finish the season? What is going on in U of H? Well they have to go on the road to North Texas and while they should win, it's hard to think they will considering how much turmoil is surrounding the program currently.

5. TCU

They've lost to SMU and that can be a crushing loss. They're expected to bounce back against Kansas and are projected to win by a lot but it's hard to think that they will. I think it's going to be a close game and that if TCU wins it won't be by a lot.

4. SMU

So I honestly didn't think SMU would beat TCU, I thought they would play a close game but I didn't think they would win. They did, and they deserve this rise they're on. They're having a great season and if they keep it up they may finish the season ranked. Probably not high but ranked nonetheless.

3. TEXAS A&M

Did Texas A&M lose two games to two good opponents? Yes. Should they be higher up this list? If they had won one of them or at least looked good in the Clemson game, then maybe. Losing hurts no matter who you lose to and so A&M slides down the list.

2. BAYLOR

So much losing last week that even a mediocre win against Rice is great news. The lone bright spot on last weeks top end of the list, other than Texas, was Baylor's win against Rice. This is more about everyone else playing so bad and less about these guys playing great but hey number 2 is number 2 no matter how you get there.

1. TEXAS

Texas beat Oklahoma State, but close. It wasn't a great, clean win and while there's no doubt after this week that they are the best team in the state, they may not be as nationally dominant as they looked two weeks ago. Texas is off this week, so they can lick their wounds and watch everyone else play, confident in their spot at number 1.

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.