The 411 is back to provide information following Week 9. Nine of the 12 FBS teams were in action over the weekend with Texas, UTSA, and Texas State idle. TCU remained perfect with a road win over West Virginia. Baylor looked like the 2021 version of itself with a dominant win over Texas Tech. And the North Texas Mean Green took control of their own destiny in Conference USA with a road win over Western Kentucky. 

The 411 offers four truths, one question, and one prediction as we turn the page towards Week 10. 

FOUR TRUTHS 

Conner Weigman is only one answer: Texas A&M’s true freshman quarterback dazzled at times in his first career start, a 31-28 loss at home to Ole Miss. Weigman threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes. He became the first Texas A&M quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game since Kellen Mond was on campus as the Aggies scored over 24 points against an FBS opponent for the first time in over a year. The emergence of Weigman should help alleviate transfer fears over offensive skill position players such as Evan Stewart and Donovan Green. An elite quarterback is like Novocain for a struggling program. 

But quarterback isn’t the only problem for Texas A&M in 2022. Even with Weigman in the game, Texas A&M sputtered on offense for long stretches of the contest. Jimbo Fisher’s offense stalled out in the middle of the game as the Aggies failed to score in the second or third quarters. Ole Miss won those periods by a combined 17-0 with Texas A&M dropping to 3-5 on the season. It was the team’s fourth consecutive loss. The Rebels averaged 6.2 yards an attempt on 63 rushes to total 390 yards on the ground – the most given up by the Wrecking Crew since Vince Young and Cedric Benson rushed for 393 yards against the Aggies in 2003. 

Seth Littrell earned an extension: Three of the 12 FBS coaches in Texas – Littrell, Jake Spavital, and Mike Bloomgren – entered the 2022 season on the proverbial hot seat thanks to contracts that run out after the 2023 season. Programs tend to not let a coach enter the last year of a contract. They’re either extended or fired a year before. But with North Texas at 5-4 and one win away from its sixth bowl bid in seven seasons under Littrell, he has removed himself from that position. North Texas blew out Western Kentucky in Week 9 to win its ninth conference game in the last 10 tries. The only loss was a last-second defeat a week ago at UTSA. The win over Western Kentucky puts the Mean Green on a collision course with those Roadrunners in a rematch for the C-USA championship in December if both teams win out. 

Max Duggan is headed to New York: Think about how much money you would’ve put on the line if offered even odds on if TCU quarterback Max Duggan would be a Heisman candidate entering November. It is probably equal to your mortgage. Yet here we are on Halloween and Duggan is easily invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony if the season was to end today. TCU is 8-0 after a 10-point road win over West Virginia in Week 9. Duggan threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. The senior ranks sixth in the nation with 22 touchdown passes, and he’s only thrown two interceptions on 221 passing attempts. He’s completing a career-high 67.4 percent of his passes on the year. 

Texas Tech can’t win in the trenches: The transfer portal is a good tool to help solidify positions and find instant-impact players at the skill positions. It isn’t built to help a team completely overhaul the offensive and defensive lines. That takes time and is best done through recruiting high school talent that a coaching staff can develop for a few years. Baylor went through that process under its last two coaches. Matt Rhule was 1-11 in his first season and 7-6 in year two as the Bears retooled the trenches. Dave Aranda suffered a 2-7 season in 2020 thanks to a porous offensive line. The Red Raiders were reminded of this reality in the Week 9 loss to Baylor. One team had offensive and defensive linemen who’ve been in the same system for years. The other didn’t. Birthdays are the best thing that can happen for players in the trenches, and Texas Tech needs a few more before the Red Raiders can truly contend with the Big 12 elite. 

ONE QUESTION 

Can Sonny Dykes avoid the November collapse? 

Fair or unfair, Dykes gained a reputation at SMU as a coach that struggled to close the season. The Mustangs started 8-0 in 2019 – Dykes second on the Hilltop – before limping to a 2-3 finish in November and beyond. SMU was 6-1 and 7-1 to start 2020 and 2021 but finished those years with a combined 2-5 record in November. Over the past three seasons, Dykes is a combined 29-2 in September and October thanks to the 8-0 start for the TCU Horned Frogs in 2022. His teams are 4-8 down the stretch. A 2-2 finish likely puts TCU into the Big 12 championship game. The Horned Frogs host Texas Tech in Week 10 before traveling to Texas and Baylor in consecutive weeks. TCU finishes the year at home against Iowa State. 

ONE PREDICTION 

Two Texas teams claim conference titles 

The 12 FBS programs in Texas are spread across five conferences. Texas A&M is out of the SEC race. Houston still holds an outside shot at reaching the AAC final, but I’m not confident that the Cougars can be consistent enough over the last month of the year to run the table. Texas State is also out of the Sun Belt race. That leaves Conference USA and the Big 12. UTSA and North Texas appear on a collision course for the C-USA crown. TCU is undefeated and atop the Big 12 standings. Add in a Texas team that could play spoiler over the next few weeks, and I think a team from the Lone Star State wins C-USA and the Big 12 in 2022.