Welcome to the ABCs of college football in the state of Texas.

Every Monday, Mike Craven from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football will walk you through quick-hitters from an action-packed weekend of football.

Week 2 featured an upset of the Longhorns by an old Southwest Conference foe and a near-upset of Texas A&M by a former Big 12 opponent, while UTSA and Houston took care of business in a big way. 

Abram Smith – Baylor cruised past Texas Southern to move to 2-0 on the season. Running back Abram Smith led the way for the Bears with 126 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.  

Brock Sturges – Texas State needed overtime to beat FIU on the road and it was two touchdown runs by Sturges that sealed the deal. His one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter tied the game. His 11-yard touchdown run in overtime provided the Bobcats with a victory. 

Calzada – Texas A&M’s starting quarterback Haynes King was forced out of the Colorado game in the first quarter with an apparent ankle injury. Sophomore Zach Calzada came in as a replacement and eventually led the game-winning drive that was punctuated with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Spiller. 

Defense – Mary Hardin-Baylor’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown until eight seconds were remaining in the 34-14 win over East Texas Baptist. The Cru on the hunt for their third national championship. East Texas Baptist only managed 205 yards of total offense in the loss. 

Erik Ezukanma – The best wide receiver in Texas plays in Lubbock. Junior Erik Ezukanma caught six passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the win over SFA. He’s already over the 300-yard mark for the season through two games. 

Fallout – The loss at Arkansas created a quarterback controversy in Austin. Hudson Card looked out of sorts behind a struggling offensive line. Casey Thompson, on the other hand, led two touchdown drives thanks, in large part, to his ability to scramble. With the Texas offensive line struggling, Thompson might offer the Longhorns their best chance to win in 2021. 

Gerry Bohanon – Baylor’s offense needs a quarterback who can take care of the football and take a few deep shots. Bohanon did that in the win over Texas Southern. The junior avoided interceptions and passed for 247 yards with a QBR of 85. 

Horns down – The Longhorns went into hostile territory and returned a defeated and embarrassed bunch. Arkansas bullied Texas in a 40-21 win, dominating Steve Sarkisian’s group on the offensive and defensive lines. Texas is clearly not SEC ready in the trenches. 

Interceptions – Texas Tech was almost upset by SFA at home on Saturday night, and one of the main culprits was the inconsistent performance by quarterback Tyler Shough. The Oregon transfer threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. 

Jacob Cowing – The performance by UTEP wide receiver Jacob Cowing was the only real positive in a 54-13 loss at Boise State. Cowing finished the game with 112 yards receiving and a touchdown on six catches. That was half of the Miners’ passing yards. 

Kevin Brown – Incarnate Word earned its first win of the season in a 40-9 win over Prairie View A&M. Running back Kevin Brown led the team with 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes. 

Luke McCaffrey – The Owls decided to start McCaffrey in the loss to Houston in Week 2 after Wiley Green was given the nod in the opener. McCaffrey did nothing to secure the job, finishing the game 9-of-19 for 86 yards and one touchdown to three interceptions. 

McCormick – UTSA running back Sincere McCormick only ran the ball seven times in the 53-0 win over Lamar, but that was enough to rush into the record books. The Converse Judson product scored twice, giving him the program lead in career rushing touchdowns with 21. 

North Texas finds a quarterback – The Mean Green suffered a 23-point loss to SMU on Saturday night, but the bright spot was the play of quarterback Jace Ruder. He threw for 366 yards in the loss and seemed to separate himself from Austin Aune in the process. 

Offensive line – Texas needs one. 

Permian-Basin – UTPB went 5-0 in the spring to springboard into the 2021 regular season. That momentum continued in a 42-31 win over West Texas A&M, moving its winning streak to eight games. 

Quentin Johnston – Recruiting matters and TCU benefitted from its top offensive stars in a two-point win over Cal. Johnston, a former four-star prospect, caught five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. 

Rashee Rice – The SMU passing attack is running on all cylinders to start the season and wide receiver Rashee Rice paced the team in its win with a team-high 99 yards on four catches. 

Sheldon Jones – Jones returned a punt for a touchdown in UTSA’ win over Lamar. It was only the second punt return for a touchdown in program history and the first since 2012. 

Tune rebounds – Houston quarterback Clayton Tune threw four interceptions in the Week 1 loss to Texas Tech. He found the Rice defense easier to manipulate in Week 2 when he passed 30 times without a turnover. He also ran for a team-high 49 yards. 

Ulysses Bentley IV – SMU was only ahead of North Texas by nine points entering the fourth quarter. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns – one rushing and one receiving – by Bentley gave the Mustangs some breathing room. He led the team with 141 yards rushing on 10 carries. 

Vaes – Midwestern State kicker Ritse Vaes kicked the game-winning extra point in a comeback win over nationally-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce. Midwestern State was trailing 23-0 midway through the second quarter. 

Wrecking Crew – Texas A&M’s defense is worthy of the old moniker after a dominating performance to keep national title hopes alive. The 10-7 was clearly a result of defensive prowess. With uncertainty at quarterback, Texas A&M’s defense must carry the load in 2021.

Xavier Gipson – SFA provided Texas Tech with a real scare on Saturday night in the 28-22 loss in Lubbock. Gipson, a junior from Dallas, caught 13 passes for 158 yards in the game. Quarterback Trae Self threw for 343 yards. 

Yuck – Texas’ offensive line will get the most attention for its poor performance, but the wide receiver position didn’t offer much help. No Longhorn recorded more than 41 yards receiving. The team only compiled 118 yards of passing offense on 23 attempts. 

Zach Evans – The former five-star recruit from Galena Park North Shore arrived on the college scene in TCU’s win over Cal on Saturday when the sophomore rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.