(AP Photo/Dave Einsel; previous weekly reviews are here)
Texans (2-4) continue to be a work-in-progress. They hammered the atrocious Lions (0-6) for three quarters and looked to be on their way to an easy win.
But then Houston’s chronically inconsistent defense gave up a 96 yard TD play while the offense went into a 4th quarter phone booth so as not to reprise the Colts debacle. Before you knew it, the Lions had pulled within a TD and the Texans were working the clock, which is not one of their strong points.
At any rate, the Texans pulled it out without too much trouble. Despite the lack of a killer instinct, the Texans now can win their third in a row for the first time in franchise history next week at Reliant Stadium against the hapless Bengals (0-7).
Texas Longhorns 56 Missouri 31
So much for the theory that the top-ranked Longhorns (7-0/3-0 Big 12) were primed for a letdown after their big win against Oklahoma last week. This one was basically over midway through the 2nd quarter as the Horns cruised to a 35-0 lead against a pretty darn good, 15th-ranked Missouri (5-2/1-2 Big 12) squad.
Texas generated 591 yards on the Mizzou defense, averaging 8.1 yards a play, while converting 10 of 12 third-down chances and scoring on six of seven chances in the red zone. The Horns really didn’t play any significant competition over their first four games, so we’ll dispense with stats from those games. But in the three subsequent games against solid Big 12 competition, Horns QB Colt McCoy (29-32, 377 yds, 3 TD’s) has been extraordinary, connecting on 80 of 97 passes (82%) for 876 yards, 5 TD’s and only 2 interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Texas defensive line continues to dominate the line of scrimmage and put heavy pressure on the opponent’s QB, which gives Texas the luxury of dropping seven defenders into coverage on most pass plays. That is the main reason the Horns have improved so dramatically this season against the spread passing offenses that have bedeviled Texas over the past couple of seasons.
The Horns still have three very difficult games over the next month — 6th-ranked Oklahoma State (7-0/3-0 Big 12), @ 8th-ranked Texas Tech (7-0/3-0 Big 12), and 23rd-ranked Kansas (5-2/2-1 Big 12). I still don’t think Texas will come through those games undefeated, but I’m not so confident that I would bet on that hunch. This Texas squad is a very good college football team.
The Aggies (2-5/0-3 Big 12) played their best game of the season in giving the 8th-ranked Red Raiders (7-0/3-0) a genuine scare. Although they led at half 23-20, the Aggies left at least 12 points on the field in that half by kicking short field goals rather than making TD’s. Those points would have likely made a big difference in the outcome.
Despite the better-quality loss, the Aggies continue to be the worst-performing college football program in the country relative to the size of the athletic budget. Based on Jeff Sagarin’s ratings of all U.S. college football programs, the Aggies are ranked better than only two BCS-conference schools — No. 117 Washington and No. 120 Syracuse — and are ranked below 12 Division I-AA (now called Football Championship Subdivision — "FCS") teams. Wofford (5-1) is rated three spots higher than the Ags and Rice (4-3) is rated 36 slots higher.
The Ags now try to build on this effort next Saturday at Ames against fellow cellar-dweller Iowa State (2-5/0-3 Big 12). If the Aggies can win that one, then five wins this season might be attainable. That would be a moral victory the way things have been going in College Station this season.
As predicted last week, the Cougars (4-3/3-0 C-USA) had trouble with rapidly-improving SMU (1-7/0-5) because of another slow start, but a 21-3 4th quarter surge pulled it out.
The good news is that QB Case Keenum (28-36, 404 yds, 2 TD’s, 1 INT) continues to be spectacular as the potent Houston offense again rolled up over 500 yards. The bad news is that the Houston defense gave up over 560 yds! The Coogs travel to West Virginia a week from Tuesday to play Marshall (3-4/2-1 C-USA) and then return home to play their final four games of the season in Houston.
The Owls (4-3/3-1 C-USA) continue to impress with their prolific offense and a defense that slows the opposition just enough to allow the offense to pull out victories. This game was particularly noteworthy because the Owls’ All-American WR Jarett Dillard had 7 receptions for 141 yds and 3 TD’s, yet he wasn’t even the best receiver in the game — Southern Miss’ DeAndre Brown caught 12 passes for 221 yds and 4 TD’s! Rice has key road games over the next two Saturdays at Tulane 2-4/1-2 C-USA) and then UTEP (3-4/3-1 C-USA).