The Cougars are so good this season, their upset against Oklahoma prompted notorious bandwagoner Drake to wear a Houston jersey at a recent show. Already, murmurs have escalated to a deafening roar that Houston will be the first non-Power Five program to make the CFP. The win over Baker Mayfield and the Sooners was a successful audition for potential realignment for inclusion in the Big-12 Conference.
Some cupcake teams prep for openers against Power Five opponents like their own personal bowl game. This is what happened when South Dakota State nearly upset the Horned Frogs. There were some serious issues with an experienced defense of seven returning starters that surrendered 41 points to a team with the ugliest logo I’ve ever seen. With that said, in Gary Patterson I trust. The 16th year head coach is arguably the best in Texas, posting 10 ten win seasons, and only losing three games over the last two seasons. Expect Coach Patterson to tighten up the defensive front this weekend against an Arkansas team that barely eked out a victory against Louisiana Tech last weekend.
Matthew McConaughey should’ve ridden into Darrell K. Royal on the back of Bevo XV. After the Oscar winner’s rousing speech — and an introduction of the latest incarnation of the Longhorns living mascot — Texas did the impossible, overcoming a blowout loss against Notre Dame nearly a year ago by beating the Irish 50-47. Shane Buechele looked like the go-to quarterback of the foreseeable future, and Tyrone Swoopes was solid as a rushing second-string, running for three touchdowns. The defense is still a concern. There were some moments — resulting in three sacks — where they looked far removed from the inexperienced unit that allowed 30.3 points per game last year. However, the surrendered 47 points — 37 before the overtime — will bode well for the high scoring Oklahoma, Cal, and Oklahoma State offenses in UT’s upcoming schedule.
Despite suffering a heart break from Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson, Trevor Knight played UCLA with his heart on his sleeve, converting sullen emotions of scorned romance into an overtime Aggies’ victory, finished with a winning touchdown by the quarterback on a fourth down zone read at the one-yard line. The real story was the “Wrecking Crew” front seven, who nabbed three interceptions and sacked Bruins signal-caller Josh Rosen five times.
Patrick Mahomes may be the best quarterback in the Lone Star State. After forsaking baseball to focus on his throwing mechanics, the Red Raiders quarterback completed 30-of-43 passes for 483 yards and four touchdowns, running for 57 yards and two scores. Quite an accomplishment, even more so when Coach Kliff Kingsbury yanked him after the first drive of the third quarter. The defense — which posted lows in nearly every FBS category last season — actually seemed solid, despite the quality of their FCS opponent severely lacking. The defense totaled 62 solo tackles with 10 assists and five sacks for 35 yards, containing the backfield to -6 rushing yards in the first half.
OTHERS:
6. Baylor (1-0)
7. UTSA (1-0)
8. UTEP (1-0)
9. Texas State (1-0)
10. SMU (1-0)
11. UNT (0-1)
12. Rice (0-1)
