With all 12 FBS teams in Texas playing, standing out in Texas college football means even more. One running back changed the game with winning plays to lead an upset victory. Elsewhere, players on special teams and in the front seven dominated and gave their teams a chance to win. 

Taking the superlatives of the weekend takes much more than seeing a final score. It’s about standing out and exceeding expectations in a way that forces Texas to take notice. Here are five players who earned those honors in Week 8. 

RB Sincere McCormick, UTSA (Converse Judson)

McCormick is absolutely unbelievable every week, but saved one of his best performances for a critical spot. In the fourth quarter alone, down 13, Jeff Traylor handed the ball to McCormick 10 times. He responded with touchdown runs of 45 and 6, 74 yards and – more importantly – zero negative plays.

McCormick’s huge effort helped turn the tide and lead UTSA to its fourth win of the season. With his monster performance of 165 yards and three touchdowns, McCormick ranks No. 1 in the nation in rushing yards and No. 6 in rushing scores. 

Texas Tech linebackers

The Texas Tech defense is often criticized, but the Red Raiders deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the way they fought against Neal Brown’s West VIrginia team. Linebackers Krishon Merriweather, Riko Jeffers (Sachse) and Colin Schooler combined for 27 tackles and helped keep the Mountaineers under wraps. 

West Virginia running back Leddie Brown came into the game ranked as one of the top rushers in America, but the linebacking trio helped keep him to just 3.7 yards per carry. 

LB Terrel Bernard, Baylor (La Porte)

On a day where Baylor and Texas’ offenses struggled to move the ball, one player stood apart. Terrel Bernard played one of the best games of his career at linebacker, leading the way with 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and even a pass breakup. 

Bernard was everywhere for a Baylor defense still putting the pieces together. He made plays at the line to hold Texas to 3.4 yards per carry as a team. Bernard also played well in coverage, contesting balls across the field. There isn’t a linebacker in this state as vital to his team’s success as Terrel Bernard. 

Houston special teams

From top to bottom, Houston put together a tremendous special teams performance. It started with kicker Dalton Witherspoon, who nailed field goals of 53, 45 and 33 to keep the Cougars close in the first half. Witherspoon also nailed all four extra points. 

Kickoff specialist Bubba Baxa (Pasadena Memorial) booted eight kicks and all eight were either touchbacks or fair catches. Punter Laine Wilkins was even better with a 51.5-yard average on two punts, both of which fell within the 20-yard line. Even Marcus Jones added a 20-yard punt return to cap it off. Houston’s all-around effort helped pave the way for Houston’s offense to blow up in the second half. 

QB Mike Collins, Rice

The TCU grad transfer completed just two of his first 10 passes. But after finally getting settled into the game following the long layoff, the senior from New Canaan, Conn., threw for four touchdowns and made enough winning plays that Rice should have beaten Middle Tennessee. 

Down 31-26 with barely two minutes left in the game, Collins completed five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, and added a dart to Austin Trammell for a two-point conversion to push the lead to three with just 34 seconds left. Unfortunately, the defense and coaching staff let Collins down to send the game to overtime and lose, but Collins still deserves credit for how well he fought in the game’s most critical spots.