TEXAS FBS FOOTBALL RANKINGS
TCU holds down the top spot in the state's rankings of college football teams
Sep 12, 2018, 6:41 am
TCU holds the top spot. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
A lot is shifting in the landscape of Texas FBS football. Find out which direction your team is trending.
Texas has 12 FBS teams. Each week we will rank them based on season-long performance, the prior game, and success relative to their competition. These are the updated rankings heading into Week 3 of the college football season.
No. 12: UTEP
The winless streak for UTEP continues as they lost big time to UNLV, and are faced with the almost hopeless task of keeping up with the University of Tennessee in Week 3. They may be able to break their cringe worthy streak at some point this season, but I would assume they hold onto that hope for another week.
No. 11: UTSA
UTSA will be heading into week 3 with an 0-2 record and I do not expect them to get their first win vs. Big 12 opponent Kansas State next weekend.
No. 10: Texas State
Texas State won their first game of the season against Texas Southern in a 36-20 victory, but are looking at a tough Week 3 opponent in Louisiana Lafayette who defeated the Bobcats 24-7 last season. More wins may be in store for this hopeful program, but a lot of things would have to go their way for that to come in Week 3.
No. 9: SMU
SMU dropped big time in the rankings after another poor outing for the second week in a row. After losing 46-23 in Week 1 to North Texas, not much changed in Week 2 for the Mustangs as they lost 42-12 to TCU. We can expect things to get worse before they get better for SMU, as they head into a Week 3 matchup vs. 19th ranked Michigan.
No. 8: Rice
Despite winning their first game of the season, the Owls have now lost two in a row. Rice fell 43-29 to Hawaii, but have a potentially favorable matchup vs. Southern Miss this coming weekend.
No. 7: Texas Tech
Despite being without starting quarterback McLance Carter after an early Week 1 injury, the Red Raiders were able to pick up their first win of the season in blowout fashion. FCS opponent Lamar University was no match for Tech as they went on to give up 77 points. Texas Tech will have their work cut out for them in Week 3 vs. a so far impressive looking Houston team, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury can expect his seat to get fairly hot if he is not able to lock down an early season win for the home crowd.
No. 6: Baylor
After an abysmal season in 2017, Baylor has already surpassed their win totals with a 2-0 record to start off 2018. On their way to securing the No. 6 spot in this week’s rankings, the Bears defeated UTSA 37-20 in week 2 and look to take down Duke University in Week 3. Duke is also off to a 2-0 start this season with victories of Army and Northwestern, so this will be Baylor’s toughest test yet. A win vs. Duke would provide the Bears with significant momentum heading into Big 12 play.
No. 5: Texas
UT and head coach Tom Herman got the monkey off their backs after winning their first game of 2018 against the University of Tulsa. The Longhorns had their exciting moments throughout the game but scared fans when they allowed Tulsa within 7 points in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns' excitement was probably short lived as they turn their attention to the difficult matchup vs. USC in Week 3. Texas will welcome the 22nd-ranked Trojans to Austin this coming weekend, and hope to bring a little excitement back to their home crowd with a big upset victory.
No. 4 Texas A&M
Though the Aggies lost a heartbreaker to No. 2 ranked Clemson this past weekend, there is still a lot of optimism and excitement surrounding the team. Texas A&M fought down to the wire against Clemson and fell just short after they were not able to complete a two-point conversion that would have tied the game in the final seconds. The Aggies will have a much less strenuous weekend in Week 3 as they face off against the University of Louisiana Monroe, and will get a chance to regroup before taking on No. 1 overall Alabama in Week 4.
No. 3: Houston
Taking over the No. 3 ranking on this week’s list is the University of Houston. The Cougars made a statement in Week 2 after defeating the University of Arizona with new head coach Kevin Sumlin 45-18. Junior quarterback D’Eriq King lit up the stat sheet with a six touchdown performance, four of which came through the air and two on the ground. Coach Major Applewhite and the Cougars have another chance to collect a statement win in Week 3, as they will be facing Big 12 opponents Texas Tech. With a win against the Red Raiders, Houston would hold claim to two victories over teams from power five conferences.
No. 2 UNT
With another impressive performance on both sides of the ball for UNT, they are able to secure the No. 2 position on this list. While only allowing 16 points, North Texas scored 58 points in Week 2 to add to their 46 point performance in week 1. Though the Mean Green have carried the momentum over from their successful 2017 campaign, they will be facing their first real test of 2018 when they travel to Fayetteville to face their SEC opponent, the Arkansas Razorbacks. We will soon see what coach Littrell and his team are truly made of.
No. 1: TCU
For a third week in a row, TCU claims the No. 1 spot in the Texas FBS rankings. The Horned Frogs dominated SMU this past weekend on their way to a 42-12 win and continued their impressive start to the 2018 season. With that said, TCU will face arguably their most difficult opponents of the season this coming weekend, the No. 4-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. This game has the potential to go either very well or very poorly for TCU, and I believe the outcome will be significantly based on their ability to limit their mistakes vs. one of the most talented and explosive teams in the nation.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.