The 411: The Good, Bad and Ugly from Week 5 in College Football

Courtesy of Houston Football

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Week 5 reenforced some truths around the state of Texas. Texas A&M isn’t going to achieve its preseason expectations in 2021 thanks to inconsistent quarterback play and an offensive line still growing into form. TCU is a program lacking identity with a subpar defense and an offense unwilling to give its best player the ball 30 times a game. Baylor, a week after upsetting Iowa State, came back to earth with a loss at Oklahoma State. 

It wasn’t all bad. Texas extended its winning streak to three and found a way to win in Fort Worth thanks to a heroic effort by its star running back. SMU and UTSA won to remain the only unbeaten FBS programs in the state. And UTEP and Rice both notched victories in the same week. 

Four truths

Houston found its groove: It was hard to know what the Cougars were made of through four games of the 2021 regular season. Houston’s year started with a disappointing loss to Texas Tech despite building 21-7 lead at halftime. Next came easy wins over Rice and Grambling that didn’t teach onlookers much about the squad. Last week, Houston struggled against a bad Navy team, leading to even more concerns, including the health of quarterback Clayton Tune’s hamstring injury. 

Those concerns were eased Saturday when Houston rolled past a Tulsa squad that entered the game as the favorite. Houston again built an early lead behind three touchdown runs by true freshman Alton McCaskill in the first half. The Cougars held onto that lead this time and strolled 2-0 in AAC play and 4-1 on the season. Houston should move to 5-1 this weekend after a trip to 1-4 Tulane. 

McCaskill, a Conroe Oak Ridge product, is the future, and maybe even current, face of the Cougars program as it begins to walk towards the Big 12. He ran for 77 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in the win over Tulsa. He’s scored seven touchdowns and averaged 4.6 yards per carry through his first five college games. 

Texas Tech can win gritty: Grit is not a word commonly used to describe the Texas Tech football program. Even in the glory years under Mike Leach the Red Raiders were considered a relatively soft program that won with scheme and finesse more than heart and determination. That’s beginning to change under third-year head coach Matt Wells. Texas Tech won a tough road game in Week 1 when it came back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit to beat Houston at NRG Stadium. 

The Red Raiders repeated the trick Saturday in Morgantown with a 23-20 victory over a pesky West Virginia squad that challenged Oklahoma a week prior. Texas Tech, led by backup quarterback Henry Colombi, watched its 17-0 halftime lead erased in the third quarter. Eventually tied at 20, Colombi led the Red Raiders on a late drive that ended with a 32-yard field goal by Jonathan Garibay to move Texas Tech to 4-1 on the season with winnable games against TCU, Kansas and Kansas State on the horizon. 

Bijan Robinson is a Heisman hopeful: We knew Robinson, a former five-star recruit out of Arizona, was as talented as any running back in the nation. What we didn’t know was if new head coach Steve Sarkisian would give him enough touches to contend for a Heisman Trophy, or if the Longhorns would be good enough on the field for its players to be considered for postseason awards. Texas is answering both of those concerns with exclamation points. The win over TCU on Saturday increased the winning streak to three and put the Longhorns at 4-1 entering the Red River Rivalry. 

Robinson is the main reason why Texas righted the ship following a disappointing loss to Arkansas. The sophomore ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 35 carries. Robinson never even carried the ball that many times in a game during his prep career at Salpointe Catholic. Robinson’s 652 rushing yards on the season is second most in college football. He’s averaging 6.2 yards per carry and he’s added two touchdown receptions out of the backfield. 

Zach Evans needs more touches: The former five-star recruit from Galena Park North Shore is clearly the most talented player on TCU’s offense, yet he only recorded 15 carries in the 32-27 loss at home against Texas. Head coach Gary Patterson said Evans was tired and uncapable of running the ball more than that. If Patterson is right, Evans needs to take it on himself to get in the shape required to be an every-down running back capable of touching the ball close to 30 times. If Patterson is wrong, the Horned Frogs need to find a way to get Evans involved in the offense in ways that Texas does with Robinson. Evans is averaging 7.8 yards per carry. For reference, he’s ran the ball 57 times in four games played compared to 105 carries in five games for Robinson. 

One question

How many losses will Texas A&M suffer in 2021? 

Most answers before the season would have been one or two games. Texas A&M suffered its second loss in a row to fall to 3-2 on the season following defeats to Arkansas and Mississippi State. The real bad news for the Aggies is that those two teams were picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC West to start the season. Texas A&M hosts Alabama this weekend (gulp) and still has Auburn, Ole Miss and LSU on the schedule. It is not out of the question that Jimbo Fisher’s program reaches four or five losses in a season that started with playoff hopes. 

One prediction 

Pack your bags because UTEP is going bowling: Last week, my one question was if UTEP could go bowling. The Miners were 3-1 and favored against Old Dominion. UTEP took care of that Old Dominion squad, winning 28-21 at home late Saturday night. The Miners are now 4-1 on the season and are good enough to reach the six wins required to achieve bowl eligibility. They should be favored again this week on a trip to Southern Miss to face a team coming off a loss at Rice. UTEP still faces North Texas and Rice on the season, which means seven wins isn’t out of the question. 

 

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