Another uproarious college football regular season is in the books, one rife with the improbable (SMU over Miami), the inexplicable (Florida over Texas) and the irredeemable (Eric Morris over North Texas), and the winner of the coveted Best-in-Texas title is …
The Red Raiders closed out their finest regular season in 17 years and gave themselves a shot at their first Big 12 title this week at JerryWorld in a rematch against BYU. Tech beat the Cougars 29-7 last month in Lubbock.
Going into the weekend, a whopping four schools (Tech, North Texas, Texas A&M and SMU) were contenders for their respective conference title games, a Best-in-Texas record. But the Aggies lost their third straight to Texas, and SMU remained on its roller coaster with a bummer of a loss to Cal that cost the Mustangs their only shot at their second straight College Football Playoff appearance.
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Consolation prize: Maybe they’re going to Disney World.
Tech earned its ranking as the state’s best by rebounding from a sketchy midseason loss of its own at Arizona State to finish out one of the nation’s most dominant seasons. Not only may the Red Raiders end up with a first-round bye, they’d no doubt make the field even if BYU exacted its revenge.
The Aggies blew a shot at their first perfect regular season since 1992 and a likely first-round bye with a loss in Austin. The good news: They’ll still probably host a first-round game, and they won’t have to play Georgia in the SEC title game, either.
Steve Sarkisian could tell Mike Elko what that’s like. Sark could give the A&M coach a scouting report on several likely CFP contestants.
Despite the loss to the Gators, the Longhorns endured a tougher schedule overall than the Aggies, whose only game against a probable CFP contestant was a win over Notre Dame. Combined with the head-to-head results, it was enough to give Texas the nod over A&M in the Best in Texas rankings.
Texas may have to settle for that distinction. Sark made an impassioned case for the Longhorns after the game, but removing the Aggies from the ranks of the undefeated may not be enough for the committee. The Longhorns’ loss in the Swamp also remains ripe.
But, as Sark noted postgame, they beat their three rivals — Oklahoma, A&M and Arkansas — for the first time since 1969-70. Doesn’t make up for that preseason No. 1 ranking, but it’s something they can talk about the week of the Gator Bowl.
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Meanwhile, Morris, who announced last week that he’d accepted the job at Oklahoma State, congratulated his team for overwhelming Temple after he’d made himself the mother of all distractions. If the Mean Green can do it again this week in New Orleans, they could make themselves the talk of the CFP.
In other Best-in-Texas news, TCU finished strong with a win over Cincinnati that should quiet some of the grumbling about Sonny Dykes; Willie Fritz proved he was the right guy to turn around Houston; and Dave Aranda still works in Waco.
1. Texas Tech (11-1)
Red Raiders’ 30.4 point scoring margin, second in nation, propels bid for first-round bye.
Last: 49-0 win over West Virginia.
2. Texas (9-3)
Even if doubtful for CFP, Longhorns finish 2-2 against field.
Last: 27-17 win over Texas A&M.
3. Texas A&M (11-1)
CFP berth will give Aggies last laugh over Texas.
Last: 27-17 loss to Texas.
4. UNT (11-1)
Drew Mestemaker breaks Dillon Gabriel’s American Conference record for passing yards by freshman.
Last: 52-25 win over Temple.
5. SMU (8-4)
At least the Mustangs will always have Miami.
Last: 38-35 loss to Cal.
6. Houston (9-3)
Coogs improve by five wins in Fritz’s first season.
Last: 31-24 win over Baylor.
7. TCU (8-4)
Josh Hoover throws more TDs (4) than incompletions (3).
Last: 45-23 win over Cincinnati.
8. Baylor (5-7)
CFB coaches come and go, but at Baylor, 36-37 is still good.
Last: 31-24 loss to Houston.
9. Texas State (6-6)
Bobcats’ three-game winning streak salvages bowl.
Last: 49-26 win over South Alabama.
10. UTSA (6-6)
Black Knights snap Roadrunners’ 25-game conference home winning streak.
Last: 27-24 loss to Army.
11. Rice (5-7)
Solid first season for Scott Abell, who beat two bowl teams.
Last: 52-3 loss to South Florida.
12. UTEP (2-10)
Skyler Locklear throws more picks (5) than TDs (4).
Last: 61-31 loss to Delaware.
13. Sam Houston (2-10)
Good news: No more home games at a soccer stadium in Houston.
Last: 56-16 loss to Florida International.
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