TEXAS FBS RANKINGS WEEK 8
Texas squeaks past Baylor to hold onto the top spot in the Texas FBS rankings
Oct 17, 2018, 7:10 am
Tom Herman and the Longhorns are rolling. Tim Warner/Getty Images
Texas has 12 FBS teams. Each week we rank them based on season-long performance, the prior game, and success relative to their competition. These are the updated rankings following Week 7 and looking forward to Week 8.
No. 12: UTEP
Coming off their bye week, UTEP will go up against 4-2 Louisiana Tech in week 8. At this point of the season the Miners have shown no real threat and do not seem to be breaking their winless streak anytime soon.
No. 11: Rice
The Owls may have hit rock bottom this past weekend as they were throttled by UAB 42-0. This marks their sixth straight loss and the fifth time this season they have allowed 40 or more points. The Owls will go up against the 4-2 FIU Panthers in Week 8 who defeated a solid MTSU team this past weekend.
No. 10: Texas State
Texas State suffered a disappointing loss by just two points to Georgia Southern this past weekend and fell to 1-5. The Bobcats schedule will not get much easier the rest of the way, so hope of a more successful second half is dwindling.
No. 9: UTSA
The Roadrunners three game winning streak came to an abrupt end in Week 7 when they were dominated 31-3 by Louisiana Tech. Luckily UTSA will have a chance to bounce back in Week 8 when they face off against a 2-3 Southern Mississippi team who also lost in embarrassing fashion to UNT this past weekend.
No. 8: SMU
The Mustangs will return to action in Week 8 after their bye week and will look to get the second half of their season off to a good start against 2-3 Tulane. SMU will hope to get some momentum before they head into a couple difficult matchups with No. 20 Cincinnati and the 5-1 Houston Cougars.
No. 7: TCU
The Horned Frogs struggled yet again in Week 7 when they lost to Texas Tech 17-14. After getting off to a 2-0 start this season, TCU looks like a completely different team that is struggling mightily to find its identity. The Horned Frogs have a big test facing them in Week 8 when they will face off against No. 9 Oklahoma. Coach Patterson will need to find some way to motivate and bring his team together if they are to have any chance of taking down a very good OU team.
No. 6: Baylor
Despite suffering a loss in Week 7 the Bears were able to jump TCU in this week’s rankings. Baylor was able to take No. 9 Texas to the wire in a 23-17 loss where they missed on three chances to score in the red zone with time running out. The Bears have looked completely capable of competing with any team that lines up against them this season and will look to upset a wounded West Virginia team in Week 8.
No. 5: UNT
A strong 30-7 victory over Southern Mississippi was not enough to keep UNT from falling one spot in this week’s rankings. While the Mean Green still hold a very impressive record of 6-1, their strength of schedule is hurting them the most at this point in the season. With that said North Texas has a big match-up to look forward to in Week 8 against the 5-1 UAB Dragons , in which a victory over UAB would benefit them in making another push in these Texas FBS rankings.
No. 4: Texas Tech
Texas Tech added another impressive victory to their belt this season after defeating TCU 17-14. It is also worthy to note that the Red Raiders were able to accomplish this feat without Freshman phenom quarterback Alan Bowman who is currently sidelined with a lung injury. The Red Raiders should have an easier go of things against Kansas in Week 8 who has shown improvement this season but have still only won two games. If the Red Raiders are able to remain healthy for the rest of this season, they should be a legitimate threat to the top teams with championship hopes in the Big 12.
No. 3: Houston
With a solid 42-20 win over East Carolina in Week 7 Houston was able to hold onto the No. 3 spot for another week. The Cougars have not looked back since their Week 3 loss to Texas Tech and seem to be building momentum as they head into the back half of the 2018 season. Houston will look ahead at another opportunity to extend their three-game winning streak against a 2-4 Navy team this coming weekend. While their one loss will almost certainly keep them out of any playoff talks, the Cougars are still in a good position to win their conference and land a spot in a significant bowl game.
No. 2: (17) Texas A&M
Texas A&M slipped past South Carolina in Week 7 by just three points and escaped from suffering a damning third loss of the season. While the Aggies are a very talented team, another loss would almost certainly drop them out of the Top 25 yet again and greatly impact their chances of being selected for a top tier bowl game. In other words, A&M will be fighting for their lives for the remainder of the season and cannot risk anymore slip ups. The Aggies will have a chance to rest in Week 8 but will return from their bye week with the challenging task of facing off against the 22nd ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.
No. 1: (7) Texas
The Longhorns hold onto their six-game win streak along with the No. 1 spot in this week’s rankings. Texas fans received a good scare last weekend when the Baylor Bears came just six points away from upsetting UT and possessed the ball in the red zone while time expired. The Longhorns proved their resiliency under late game pressure and impressed the voting committee enough to move up two spots to No. 7 overall in the national rankings. The excitement will be put on hold for a week as Coach Herman and his team will get to enjoy their well-deserved bye week. With that said, the Longhorns will need to remain focused over their time off as they will kick off the second half of their season with three very difficult matchups vs. Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech.
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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!
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