Texas FBS rankings week 12
A spectacular touchdown catch in Lubbock keeps the Longhorns Big 12 title hopes alive
Nov 14, 2018, 6:31 am
Sam Ehlinger had a big game. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
No. 12: Rice
Things continue to get uglier for the Owls, who lost their tenth straight game in week 11 after falling to Louisiana Tech 28-13. This season has turned out to be an extremely disappointing start for new head coach Mike Bloomgren. At this point Bloomgren can only hope to get through the last two games and begin rebuilding hope for 2019.
No. 11: UTEP
After securing their first win of the season in Week 11, the Miners were brought back down to reality after getting defeated 48-32 by Middle Tennessee. UTEP’s offense is playing its best football of the season after two consecutive 30-point performances and will hope to overpower a 1-9 Western Kentucky team in week 12.
No. 10: UTSA
The Road Runners were dominated 45-7 by FIU in week 11 and now fall to 3-7 on the season. UTSA has failed to score more than 17 points in their last four games and will have a tough time getting things back on track against a strong Marshall team.
No. 9: Texas State
The Bobcats two game winning streak came to an abrupt ending after being handled by Appalachian State 38-7. Texas State probably won’t have much better luck in week 12 when they face off against the 8-2 Troy Trojans.
No. 8: TCU
The Horned Frogs fell two games below .500 with a loss to West Virginia last weekend. TCU has a difficult matchup with a dangerous Baylor team in week 12 but the Horned Frogs can hope that young quarterback Michael Collins will eventually find a groove in his fourth start of the season.
No. 7: SMU
While the Mustangs secured their fifth win of the season this past weekend, it was not a pretty one. SMU’s defense, who played well against one of the nation’s most dangerous quarterbacks in week 10, allowed the 1-9 Connecticut Huskies to score 50 points in Week 11. The Mustangs will face a talented Memphis team this coming weekend but could walk away with a third consecutive victory if they show up on both sides of the ball.
No. 6: Baylor
The Bears suffered a tough loss in week 11 in a chippy game with Iowa State. Both team’s emotions were running high as multiple shoving matches broke out throughout the game and two players were eventually ejected. The Bears have definitely adopted a new urgency and mentality this season and will hope to carry that into a big matchup with TCU this weekend. Look for the Bears to jump on the struggling Horned Frogs at home in Week 12.
No. 5: UNT
UNT was caught sleeping in Week 11 when they were upset by 3-7 Old Dominion. The Mean Green may have suffered a lapse in focus by looking ahead to their Week 12 matchup with Florida Atlantic. A season that began with so much promise and excitement is now in danger of becoming very underwhelming based on what this team was believed to be capable of accomplishing.
No. 4: Texas Tech
Despite suffering two straight losses the Red Raiders have displayed impressive performances against two of the best teams in the Big 12. Texas Tech fell just five points short of upsetting No. 6 Oklahoma and seven points away from defeating No. 13 Texas. Not to mention that the Red Raiders have been able to keep pace with these top tier programs without their starting quarterback Alan Bowman who has been plagued by injuries all season.
No. 3: Houston
With a 59-49 upset loss last weekend to Temple the Cougars seem to have lost their midseason momentum that nearly drove them to the No. 1 spot on this list. Because of the lackluster effort from the Cougar defense, an impressive performance in which quarterback D’Eriq King threw for 355 yards and 5 touchdowns along with 125 yards rushing with a touchdown was surprisingly not enough to hold off the Owls. Houston will look to redeem themselves in week 12 against an average Tulane team.
No. 2: Texas A&M
After two straight losses that forced Texas A&M out of the Top 25, the Aggies were able to get back in the win column in Week 11 against Ole Miss. A&M looked efficient on both sides of the ball as they put up over 500 yards of total offense and held the Rebels to 24 points. While on paper the Aggies week 12 matchup with UAB should be an easy victory, the 9-1 Blazers are an athletic team that could give Texas A&M a run for their money if they are not prepared. Texas A&M will look to build momentum with a second straight win before heading into their final game of the season vs. LSU.
No. 1: Texas
The Longhorns were lucky to escape Lubbock with a win week 11. The Red Raiders held the lead until Sam Ehlinger threw his fourth touchdown to strike the final blow with only 21 seconds remaining. While the UT defense continued to struggle for a third straight week, Ehlinger arguably had his best game of the season throwing for 312 yards and 4 touchdowns despite the absence of his top target Colin Johnson. The Longhorns have a difficult matchup in week 12 with the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones who are in the middle of a five-game winning streak. Texas will need to have solid performances by both their offense and defense if they are going to hold off one of the hottest teams in the country.
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Jan 15, 2025, 10:57 pm
If you are a believer in the third time is a charm, go ahead and book the Texans for their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game! Saturday is the Texans’ third crack at the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Of course, the Texans had a third time is the charm opportunity at advancing beyond the division round back in 2016 and came nowhere close. Charm will have nothing to do with the outcome at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs have administered the Texans’ two most humiliating postseason defeats in franchise history. They came as the bookend postseason appearances of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach. In 2015, the Texans won the worst division in the AFC (that sounds familiar) but as a division champ got to play host to the Wild Card 11-5 Chiefs. The visitors were three-point favorites. They won by 30. 30-0 to be more precise. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown. It would have been in the Texans’ best interest to have forfeited right then and there. In what was not exactly a shocking development, Texans’ quarterback Brian Hoyer wasn’t up to the task, throwing for just 112 yards and four interceptions. On the Chiefs’ side third-year tight end Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards. Taylor Swift was not in attendance.
The second Texans-Chiefs playoff get together is the most incredible game in Texans’ history. The Texans showed up in Missouri fresh off the greatest comeback win in their history, having come from down 16-0 in the third quarter to best the Buffalo Bills in overtime. In what could safely be characterized as stunning, the Texans put up three first quarter touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. *Massive bonus points if you can name the three Texans who scored those TDs, answer below. A field goal made it 24-0 Texans with 10:54 left in the second quarter. In a collapse tough to pull off, the Texans would trail before halftime. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns in nine minutes and eleven seconds of game time, with that Kelce fellow scoring the last three of them. Some will recall O’Brien calling a fake punt from his own 31-yard line with the Texans up 24-7. Too soon? Justin Reid (now pursuing his third Super Bowl ring in three seasons as a Chief) was stopped short. An even more damning O’Brien moment came later in that game when he actually had to use a timeout to change his mind and go for it with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Texans down 48-31, and facing fourth and four at the K.C. 42. That was a fire-able on the spot offense! Instead it took an 0-4 start to the 2020 season for O’Brien to be ousted. 51-31 Chiefs was the final score, and they went on to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles in the ongoing Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era.
Back to the present
Those routs were then, this is now. For a 15-2 team the Chiefs seem vulnerable. Maximum credit to them for having won an NFL record 16 consecutive games decided by eight or fewer points, 11 of them this season including their 27-19 victory over the Texans December 21. Perhaps the two-time defending champions were often bored with the regular season and often did just enough to win. The Texans would have been tied with them late in the third quarter had Ka’imi Fairbairn not botched an extra point. On the other hand, it was the play that got them within 17-16 which resulted in Tank Dell’s catastrophic season-ending knee injury. Who besides Nico Collins will do something in the passing game Saturday? Last Saturday the Texans’ pass rush harassed and flustered Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Mahomes is a different breed. Four weeks ago the Texans sacked Mahomes just once and did not intercept him. That seemingly must change for the Texans to pull off what be a shocker for most people. Saturday’s high temperature forecast for Kansas City is 25 degrees. Not ideal for the Texans but better than if the game had been scheduled for Sunday when the high is supposed to be 16.
Still standing
Four Texans who dressed for the debacle five years ago will suit up against the Chiefs Saturday: Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard who were in their first season with the team, Fairbairn, and long snapper Jon Weeks. Granted he’s just a long snapper (important role but not physically taxing), but Weeks is in his 15th season with the Texans and has yet to miss a game-244 regular season games (with Saturday his 14th playoff game, also without a miss). Presuming he is back next season, Weeks (who turns 39 next month) can crack the top five list of most consecutive games played in NFL history by answering the bell in the first 12 regular season games.
*The Texans’ three early TDS in the 51-31 loss at KC: 1. Kenny Stills with a 54-yard reception 2. Lonnie Johnson with a 10-yard return of a blocked punt 3. Darren Fells with a four-yard grab
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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