By TexasFootball.com staff
While three critical Power Poll teams enjoyed byes this week — A&M, Tech and Baylor — that didn't mean that several key results didn't shake up the meat and cheese of this sandwich. The very top and very bottom stayed the same as last week, but the teams in the middle, as usual, are on the move.
The most key jump probably came from Texas, which wrestled away the No. 5 spot from Texas Tech after splitting time there last week. Did the win over BYU put the 'Horns back in their customary spot at (or near) the top? No — but it's one small step for a fan base that probably still has to clear the cobwebs from last year's nightmare dream sequence. TCU made a similar move, jumping up from No. 4 to No. 3 and replacing Houston — after all, TCU went on the road in a conference game and showed marked improvement from its opener, and UH took a little too much time in dispatching an inferior UNT squad.
The other key jump comes from Rice, which shocked football enthusiasts with a narrow win over Purdue last Friday. That drew enough attention to tie the Owls up with SMU at the seventh spot — both teams are now 1-1, and Rice's win is arguably much more impressive. Only it's ultra-flat showing against UT in the opener kept it from the seventh spot outright. SMU showed a little more fight against A&M.
DCTF's 2011 Texas College Power Poll — Week 2
| # | School | Points (1st-place votes) | Previous week |
| 1 | Texas A&M Aggies | Points: 50 (5) | 1 |
| Travis Stewart: No, the Aggies didn't play this week, but there's no reason to think twice about their place at the top. This team, for now, has earned respect-until-beaten status. | |||
| 2 | Baylor Bears | Points: 44 | 2 |
| Adam Hochfelder: If Baylor is not 5-0 going into the best "Battle of the Brazos" (vs. A&M for those too young to remember the SWC) game in the last three decades, then it is not what it showed two weeks ago vs. TCU. | |||
| 3 | TCU Horned Frogs | Points: 38 | 4 |
| Travis Stewart: The loss to Baylor may have put TCU's long-standing BCS goals is jeopardy, but the crucial win over Air Force at least got it back on track for a coveted conference title. Now a few easier games before looming Boise. | |||
| 4 | Houston Cougars | Points: 36 | 3 |
| Brad Hilliard: If the Coogs are to be considered a potential BCS buster, they will need to play a more complete game than they did in Denton last Saturday. | |||
| 5 | Texas Longhorns | Points: 31 | t-5 |
| Adam Hochfelder: The Garrett Gilbert Era is all but assuredly over. Enter the duo that should be known as McAsh. Love the fight in the team more than the team itself right now. Big week this week. Can Texas overcome its version of kryptonite (UCLA)? | |||
| 6 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | Points: 27 | t-5 |
| Greg Tepper: Tommy Tuberville has two weeks to prepare his Raiders for a trip to New Mexico. Pretty sure they could prepare for this one in two hours. | |||
| t-7 | SMU Mustangs | Points: 19 | 7 |
| Adam Hochfelder: Two weeks into the year, SMU has not impressed me. I think June Jones will get the 'Stangs in shape with a couple of easy games leading up to TCU. That game could be a season maker for SMU. | |||
| t-7 | Rice Owls | Points: 19 | 8 |
| Brad Hilliard: Purdue won't be playing in the Rose Bowl this year, but beating a Big Ten team is definitely a feather in the cap of David Bailiff and the Owls. | |||
| 9 | UTEP Miners | Points: 9 | 9 |
| Travis Stewart: UTEP's passing game hasn't been as rocky as I feared it might, but the run game is still terribly average and the defensive isn't much to speak of. The plus side? I'd be very surprised if this team didn't improve almost every week. | |||
| 10 | North Texas Mean Green | Points: 6 | 10 |
| Travis Stewart: At least UNT was (briefly) in this game, which is more than we can say for its season (and conference) opener. A new coach means that, for at least a few more weeks, all the Mean Green needs to show is improvement. | |||
ABOUT THE PANEL:
> Travis Stewart is the managing editor of DCTF
> Greg Tepper is the associate editor of DCTF
> Adam Hochfelder is the Executive Director of DCTF and several other IMG College properties
> Brad Hilliard is the operations coordinator for DCTF and several other IMG College properties
> Tom Sullivan is an account executive for DCTF
