Kirby Lee- US PRESSWIRE
Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word. And there’s an opening convey of generalities. A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner. — John Steinbeck
It’s Thursday, so that means the newest episode of the Nation of Texas College Football Rankings is on tap for Week Four.
Here they are:
1. TEXAS LONGHORNS (3-0)
2. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (3-0)
3. TCU HORNED FROGS (2-0)
4. BAYLOR BEARS (2-0)
5. TEXAS A&M AGGIES (1-1)
6. UTSA ROADRUNNERS (3-0)
7. TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (1-1)
8. NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN (1-2)
9. RICE OWLS (1-2)
10. SMU MUSTANGS (1-2)
11. UTEP MINERS (1-2)
12. HOUSTON COUGARS (0-3)
The Texas Longhorns stay atop our NOT Top 12 for the second straight win after a 66-31 shellacking of the Ole Miss Rebels last Saturday in Oxford. Texas is No. 11 in the Rant Sports Top 25 for Week Three and with a bye this Saturday, has a full 13 days to prepare for a banged-up Oklahoma State Cowboys squad on September 22nd in Stillwater to open up the Big 12 conference slate.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders have been a surprise so far in the early going, outscoring their first three opponents by a combined total of 151-30. Granted, these opponents were perpetual cupcakes Northwestern State and New Mexico, and Division I upstart Texas State, but Tommy Tuberville‘s squad nonetheless has positive momentum heading into their contest on the 29th against the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames.
The TCU Horned Frogs are off to a 2-0 start and have looked solid in all facets of the game. The recent loss of standout running back Waymon James could be an issue– but depth is less of a concern for Gary Patterson than it may have been 2-3 years ago. TCU welcomes the 2-1 Virginia Cavaliers to Forth Worth on Saturday who will be looking to prove they are still competitive after a 56-21 thrashing at the hands of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets to open ACC conference play last Saturday.
The 3-0 Baylor Bears appear to have not missed a beat, as Nick Florence has taken over as the team’s signal caller and done an admirable job in replacing the departed Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III. As Art Briles’ name starts to swirl in replacement rumors for 2013, the Bears travel to Monroe, Louisiana tomorrow evening to face what some consider the most dangerous team in the country right now– the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.
The Texas A&M Aggies bounced back last Saturday with a 48-3 hammering of the SMU Mustangs in Dallas and have one more fine tuning contest this Saturday as they welcome South Carolina State to Kyle Field. A&M will be 2-1 going into their next SEC contest against the depleted Arkansas Razorbacks in College Station on Saturday the 29th.
The second-year Division I upstart UT-San Antonio Roadrunners are off to an impressive 3-0 start and should easily advance to 4-0 as they welcome Division II Northwestern Oklahoma State to the Alamodome on Saturday. The Roadrunners kick off WAC conference play on Saturday the 29th as they travel to Las Cruces to take on the soon-to-be-vagabonded New Mexico State Aggies.
The 1-1 Texas State Bobcats came back down to earth in Week Three after a surprising 30-13 win over the Houston Cougars early on. Texas State fell to Texas Tech 58-10 at home last Saturday, and will be looking to bounce back on the 22nd as they welcome the Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks to San Marcos.
The 1-2 North Texas Mean Green gave the Kansas State Wildcats all they could handle last Saturday in Manhattan, falling 35-21, but putting up a strong effort in the process. After other non-conference battles against the LSU Tigers and Texas Southern, the Mean Green could be poised to make some noise in their final year as a Sun Belt Conference member as they take on the Troy Trojans this Saturday at Apogee Stadium in Denton.
The Rice Owls had a rough introduction to a future Conference USA opponent as they were dispatched by a talented Louisiana Tech Bulldogs squad 56-37 last Saturday in Shreveport to fall to 1-2 overall. David Bailiff‘s team returns home this Saturday to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd in a matchup which could easily allow them to get back to .500.
The 1-2 SMU Mustangs were absolutely dismantled on their home field by Texas A&M last Saturday, but earn a bye week this week to try and get things back in order. And do so they must, as their next contest is against the TCU Horned Frogs on September 29th in Fort Worth. This team will go where Garrett Gilbert takes them, and, so far, that’s nowhere.
The UT-El Paso Miners got into the positive column last Saturday after a 41-28 win over the New Mexico State Aggies at home last Saturday. Things get no easier for the Miners, however, as they travel to Madison to take on a frustrated Wisconsin Badgers team this Saturday in Madison. A 1-3 start is likely around the corner.
The Houston Cougars have a bye week as well to try and work through their 0-3 start before they take on the Rice Owls on Saturday the 29th in an effort to get into the win column while they can. In short, this team is bad. It’s hard to really know where to start in describing what they need to improve upon.
Make sure to visit next Thursday for the next installment of the NOT College Football Rankings!
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Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his Facebook page.
Kris is also the host of the Rant Sports College Football Hour on the TSC Radio Network on Sunday evenings at 8 Central Time and Rant Sports Radio on the Blog Talk Radio Network Wednesday evenings at 8 Central Time.
