Texas FBS Football Rankings

There’s a new No. 1 in Texas and you won’t believe who it is

There’s a new No. 1 in Texas and you won’t believe who it is
Seth Littrell has North Texas rolling. Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

Here is the weekly rankings of all the Texas FBS schools: 

No. 12: UTEP

The Miners continue their suffering ways and remain winless after losing 24-0 to Tennessee. UTEP will face New Mexico State this coming weekend who is also yet to get a win this season. While there is one other winless FBS teams in Texas, UTEP holds the last place spot here considering that they have yet to win a game since 2016.

No. 11: UTSA

The Road Runners are the only other FBS team in Texas that has not won a game. They will face off against a struggling Texas State team who sits one spot ahead of them on this list.

No. 10: Texas State

Texas State falls into the No. 10 slot and is at the bottom half of a group of 1-3 teams in Texas that have gotten off to mediocre starts in 2018. The Bobcats will look to gain their second win this season over 0-3 UTSA. Though facing an 0-3 team provides some hope, a winless record can sometimes become a dangerous motivator.

No. 9: Rice

Rice falls to the No. 9 spot in the rankings after a poor loss to Hawaii in Week 3. The Owls were torched for over 300 yards and four touchdowns through the air by quarterback Cole McDonald. Rice should have a favorable matchup in Week 4 against a Southern Mississippi team that was not able to play last weekend due to Hurricane Florence.

No. 8: SMU

SMU moves up one spot this week and switches places with the Rice Owls simply because of their strength of schedule. Yes, the Mustangs have looked to be in disarray this season, but the three teams they have faced thus far combine for a 7-2 record, while two of them are currently ranked in the Top 25. With that said, things will not get much easier for SMU going forward with their next opponent being the always tough Navy team.

No. 7: Baylor

The Bears showed exciting potential through their first two games this season, but were handled easily by the Duke Blue Devils in Week 3. Baylor did not find the end zone until the second half, and at that point the game was out of reach. Baylor will look to get back on track in week 4 vs. a surprising Kansas team that has won two straight games in dominant fashion.

No. 6: Texas Tech

Texas Tech not only moved up one spot in this wee'ks rankings, but they did so while breaking an NCAA record in Week 3. Freshman quarterback Alan Bowman threw for 605 yards and 5 touchdowns vs. Houston which secured him the Big 12 record for passing yards in a single game by a freshman. The Red Raiders will need another praiseworthy performance by Bowman in Week 4 as they face off against 15th ranked Oklahoma State.

No. 5: Houston

The Houston Cougars fall two spots in the week 4 rankings after losing big to Texas Tech. The Cougars defense had no answer for the Red Raiders air attack as they were gashed for over 600 yards through the air and 63 total points. One positive take away from the disappointing loss is the 451 yards and 5 touchdowns put up by quarterback D’Eriq King. With King playing at such a high level this season, Houston should have a legitimate chance to win every weekend.

No. 4: Texas

Is Texas back? The Longhorns shocked the college football landscape last weekend as they dominated No. 22 USC. UT shined in the national spotlight and now have people starting to believe that things will only continue to get better. The Longhorns have another chance to make a statement this coming weekend as they will take on the 17th ranked TCU Horned Frogs. UT has the momentum as TCU is coming off of a tough loss to Ohio State, but you can bet the the Horned Frogs will not go down easily.

No. 3: Texas A&M

Texas A&M has been a team that surprised everyone with their high level play so far this season. Though the Aggies are no pushover, they are challenged with the task of facing the best team in the nation in Week 4. No matter how good new head coach Jimbo Fisher has his team looking, they will be fighting an uphill battle vs. an Alabama team that has scored more than 50 points in every game this season. This Alabama team has yet to show any true sign of weakness on either side of the ball. The Aggies will have to be firing on all cylinders vs. the Crimson Tide if they want any chance of taking college football's goliath.

No. 2: TCU

For the first time this season, the Horned Frogs drop out of the No. 1 spot on this list. Though TCU fought hard, they fell short to Ohio State in a 40-28 loss. TCU held a one point lead through halftime, but the Buckeyes caught fire in the third quarter scoring 20 points which TCU could not recover from. The Horned Frogs look ahead at another tough matchup against Texas in Week 4. This is a must win game for both programs if either of them want any chance of making into the college football playoffs.

No. 1: UNT

Locking down the No. 1 spot on this weeks rankings it UNT. Yes, I said the University of North Texas. Not only are the Mean Green 3-0, but they have completed two dominant wins over SMU and Arkansas. With these early wins over their two most difficult opponents of the season, there is almost no reason that UNT should not be able to finish undefeated. Along with the teams success, quarterback Mason Fine currently sits as the fifth leading passer in all of college football and has thrown 8 touchdowns. If head coach Seth Littrell can keep his young quarterback and the rest of the team playing at a high level, the sky's the limit for this rejuvenated program.

 

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The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

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