The offseason is built for subjective rankings. Dave Campbell’s looked at the past 10 seasons for each FBS program not including Sam Houston since the Bearkats didn’t join the FBS ranks until 2023. We charted each team’s record from 2014-2023, as well as the number of bowl trips and winning seasons. 

Instead of ranking the teams by pure win totals, we attempted to rank based on fan enjoyment. And that’s where this becomes subjective. Would you rather your team have high highs regardless of the lows (think Baylor) or sustained success without achieving championships (think Texas A&M)? We leaned towards ranking the highs regardless of the lows in our ranking of the FBS programs in Texas over the last 10 seasons. 

1. TCU HORNED FROGS

10-year record: 81-46
Bowl trips: 6
Winning seasons: 6
Conference titles: 1 

TCU won more games than any other FBS program in Texas. The Horned Frogs won 10 or more games in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2022. They claimed a share of the Big 12 crown in 2014 and became the first team in Texas to play in the College Football Playoff. TCU reached the national championship game in a Cinderella season in Year One of the Sonny Dykes era. Max Duggan was a runner-up for the Heisman, as well. 

2. BAYLOR BEARS 

10-year record: 70-56
Bowl trips: 7
Winning seasons: 6
Conference titles: 2

The Bears are rarely dull. Baylor experienced four 10-plus win seasons (2014, 2015, 2019, 2021) and two seasons with two or fewer losses (2017, 2020). Three different coaches led the Bears to a Big 12 title game, and two of them won at least a share of a conference championship. In the last 10 seasons, Baylor has transitioned from Art Briles to Matt Rhule to Dave Aranda. The 2021 season was arguably the best in program history with 12 wins, a Big 12 championship, and a win in the Sugar Bowl. 

3. UTSA ROADRUNNERS

10-year record: 65-60
Bowl trips: 5
Winning seasons: 5
Conference titles: 2

If we’re ranking from “fun factor” than the Roadrunners should be at the top of the list. UTSA didn’t start football until 2012 but are a legit G5 powerhouse after 12 seasons. The last 10 years were a blast. The Roadrunners reached their first bowl game in 2016 under Frank Wilson. Jeff Traylor took over ahead of the 2020 season and has led UTSA to four straight bowl games and won two conference titles. UTSA rarely loses at home and are tremendous in conference play. 

4. TEXAS LONGHORNS

10-year record: 73-53
Bowl trips: 7
Winning seasons: 6
Conference titles: 1

This one is hard. For Texas, the last 10 years didn’t live up to expectations. But the 2023 season matters as much as any, and the Longhorns won a conference championship and reached the College Football Playoff. The lows of the Charlie Strong and Tom Herman eras weren’t erased, but we’ll take the highs of a conference championship and two Sugar Bowl trips over sustained success that didn’t result in a conference crown. 

5. HOUSTON COUGARS 

10-year record: 73-48
Bowl trips: 8 
Winning seasons: 7  
Conference titles: 1

Life at the G5 level is not always luxurious, but the Cougars had one of their best decades in history during the last 10 seasons, and that doesn’t even consider the move from the AAC to the Big 12 ahead of the 2023 season. Herman arrived in 2015 and led the Cougars to a conference championship and 13 wins. The Cougars won 12 games and reached the AAC championship again in 2021. 

6. TEXAS A&M AGGIES 

10-year record: 76-48
Bowl trips: 8
Winning seasons: 9  
Conference titles: 0

This is a matter of preference. Texas A&M recorded the most winning records in Texas over the last 10 seasons with nine. No other team in Texas had eight. But ask every Aggie you know and they won’t look back on the last 10 years fondly. How could you when the program pays a coach $76 million dollars to go away? With all the wins, the Aggies failed to reach a conference championship game or reach 10 wins in a single season. 

7. SMU MUSTANGS 

10-year record: 63-60 
Bowl trips: 4 
Winning seasons: 6
Conference titles: 1

SMU was putrid in 2014 and 2015, combining for three wins. The scales begin to change when Sonny Dykes took over before the 2018 season. The Mustangs have won at least seven games in six of the last seven seasons. They won their first conference championship since the Death Penalty last year and are now off to Power Four ranks as members of the ACC. The last five years have rejuvenated a program that was in a coma for most of the last 40 years. 

8. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS 

10-year record: 57-66
Bowl trips: 5
Winning seasons: 4  
Conference titles: 0

Half of Texas Tech’s winning seasons over the last 10 years occurred in the first two years of the Joey McGuire era. The Red Raiders did get to watch Patrick Mahomes, but they also had to observe Kliff Kingsbury’s defense. The Matt Wells era wasn’t any better. Texas Tech hadn’t posted a winning record in Big 12 play since 2009 when McGuire took over before the 2022 season. 

9. NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN 

10-year record: 54-71
Bowl trips: 6
Winning seasons: 2
Conference titles: 0

Seth Littrell led the Mean Green to a handful of bowl trips, but never got the program above the mediocre outside of two seasons with Mason Fine at quarterback. North Texas did win nine games in 2017 and 2018. The program also played for a conference title in 2022. 

10. RICE OWLS 

10-year record: 39-78
Bowl trips: 3 
Winning seasons: 1  
Conference titles: 0 

Three bowl trips in 10 seasons wasn’t awful for the Rice program. The 2014 season included eight wins and a win in the Hawaii Bowl. That was the last time the Owls won a bowl game or finished the season with a winning record. 

11. TEXAS STATE BOBCATS 

10-year record: 38-83 
Bowl trips: 1
Winning seasons: 2
Conference titles: 0

The Bobcats are trending up after one season under G.J. Kinne, but that doesn’t erase the past nine seasons. Texas State failed to win more than four games in every season from 2015 through 2022. 

12. UTEP MINERS 

10-year record: 36-82
Bowl trips: 2
Winning seasons: 2
Conference titles: 0

It looked like the Miners were turning a corner during the Dana Dimel era when UTEP won seven games and reached a bowl game in 2021. That success wasn’t sustainable and now the program enters 2024 with a new head coach.