Nearly half of the 13 FBS programs in Texas were idle in Week 5 but that won’t stop us from drawing large conclusions from the seven teams that were in action. 

Texas A&M improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2016 with a home win over Auburn, but the talk after the game was about penalties and overall sloppiness. North Texas became 5-0 for the first time since the 1950s but the social media discussion after the game was about attendance instead of results. And TCU blew a 17-0 lead at Arizona State in a pivotal Big 12 showdown. 

Before we turn our attention towards Week 6, here are 10 thoughts from Week 5. 

Cardiac Coogs 

For the first three quarters and change in the trip to Oregon State on Friday night, the Houston Cougars looked like the opposite of a Willie Fritz program. They committed penalties that erased points, drop passes that prevented scores, and turned the ball over for the first time all season, which resulted in Oregon State’s first score and a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The sloppy play continued into the second half as the Beavers led 14-10 at the end of three quarters and then 24-10 early in the fourth after a touchdown drive. Houston, which entered the game 3-0 and was favored by double digits, looked dead in the water. A team far away from Third Ward that might’ve been peeking towards the Big 12 opener at home against Texas Tech. 

And then something clicked. Suddenly, the Cougars looked like a Fritz team. Houston scored 14 points in the final six minutes of regulation on two Conner Weigman touchdown passes, including a 50-yarder to tight end Tanner Koziol. That forced overtime and then Ethan Sanchez hit a game-winning field goal to preserve Houston’s perfect record and to set up a marquee Big 12 clash with the Red Raiders next week at 6 p.m. 

I’m not ready to say Houston is a Big 12 contender despite the 4-0 record. Those wins are over FCS squad SFA, Rice in the first year of a new head coach, Colorado on its third-string quarterback, and an Oregon State team that was 0-4 entering Week 5 with a 45-14 loss to Texas Tech on the CV. But I am here to tell you that the trajectory for the Cougars is pointed upwards. That was a culture win on Friday night and Fritz is all about culture. The talent is coming on the recruiting trail and this program will compete for Big 12 titles in a year or two. 

Frogs Fall in Familiar Way

Forgive any TCU fan if they’re suffering from PTSD after the three-point loss to Arizona State on Friday night. The Horned Frogs struggled with red zone turnovers and a lack of run game during a five-win 2023 and a shaky 3-3 start to the 2024 season. That old trauma reappeared on the road against the Sun Devils. TCU committed three turnovers, one of which was in the red zone early in the third quarter, and were outrushed 220-10. 

Quarterback Josh Hoover threw two interceptions in the same game for the first time in 2025, something he did four times last season. The Frogs were 2-2 in those games. TCU jumped out to a 17-0 lead that had dwindled to 17-14 by halftime. The offense missed injured running back Kevorian Barnes and wide receiver Eric McAlister, who gave it a go but didn’t play for most of the game. 

The loss slows momentum in Fort Worth. Sonny Dykes’ squad had won nine of their last 10 heading into Week 5 and were tied with the Sun Devils with the second-best odds to win the Big 12. In many ways, the game on Friday night felt like a title eliminator with Texas Tech looking like the class of the conference. Both teams that played for the Big 12 championship last year had two conference losses, however, so not all is lost. Upcoming games against Colorado and Oklahoma State should allow the Frogs to get back on track. 

To do so, the Frogs need to run the football. In the four losses last year, TCU averaged 2.85 yards a rush and 73.50 rushing yards per game. In the nine wins, the Frogs averaged 4.0 yards per rush and over 130 rushing yards per game. They averaged 5.24 yards per rush and 174.67 rushing yards through the first three games of 2025, all wins. That dipped to 0.4 rushing yards in the loss to Arizona State. 

Where is Mean Green Nation? 

North Texas was 4-0 for the first time since 2018 and hosted South Alabama on Saturday with a chance to become 5-0 for the first time since 1959. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker leads an offense that ranked ninth in the FBS and second in the state of Texas behind only Texas Tech in scoring offense with 47 points per game after four games. The defense was tied for first in the country with 10 turnovers forced. In short, this team is fun as hell and a real conference championship contender. 

Yet, the television broadcast for the North Texas win over South Alabama provided a glimpse into the attendance challenges facing the football team. The stands looked half empty and the announced attendance number of 16,575 revealed that to be a fair representation. DACTU Stadium holds 30,100.  The 5-year average for North Texas home games is 19,634, per D1Ticker. Low attendance during .500 seasons is understandable. Not showing up for a 4-0 team is inexcusable. 

No one needs to remind Mean Green fans how short-lived success can be. They’ve watched as their top passer, receiver, and rusher left for more money in the transfer portal after back-to-back seasons. Mestemaker will be a hot commodity in the 2026 portal if he continues to play to this level. And if North Texas fans haven’t noticed, there will be a dozen or more Power Four jobs open and most will want to talk to Eric Morris. 

This season in Denton, America could be special. The offense is as explosive as ever. The defense is growing into one of the best in the American. The schedule sets up perfectly with home games against South Florida, UTSA, and Navy and no Memphis or Tulane in the regular season. The Mean Green could win 10-plus games and play for the American championship. 

There is a huge game on Oct. 10 against South Florida that provides the fan base a chance at redemption. To truly support a team that deserves more than it is getting. Homefield advantage is real, but only if you show up. A spot in the College Football Playoff could be on the line. 

Mistakes Dampen Aggie Win 

Texas A&M outgained Auburn 414-155 and had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed in the 16-10 win over Auburn. The Tigers were begging to be put out of their misery. The Aggies wouldn’t oblige. Auburn was 0-for-12 on third down, 0-for-2 on fourth down, and averaged 2.2 yards rushing on 24 attempts. Quarterback Jackson Arnold only averaged 7.3 yards a completion. The Wrecking Crew accounted for five sacks and six tackles for loss. 

Yet, Auburn had the ball twice with a chance to go win over the last two minutes of the game. Unforced errors were the main culprit. The Aggies committed 13 penalties for 119 yards. They fumbled the ball twice, though they recovered both. The Auburn offense could’ve played for 10 hours and not scored on a long drive against the Wrecking Crew, but an errant pass to Terry Bussey was tipped into the air and returned 73 yards to set up the lone Tigers touchdown drive – a one-play, two-yard gift to cut the Texas A&M lead to 13-10 with 10:20 left in the game. 

“We’ve created too many penalties. It’s got to get fixed,” Elko said. “Way too many penalties that kill drives. Way too many penalties that put us behind the sticks. If you put that together with not being able to convert third downs that’s how you have 414 yards and not enough points with what 414 yards should get you.” 

The mistakes didn’t end of costing Texas A&M, but that had more to do with Auburn’s offensive ineptitude than anything the Aggies did. The question for A&M after this game is: How many of the remaining eight opponents would’ve been beaten with that type of performance? Samford, for sure. Probably Arkansas. Maybe Florida? Everyone else likely would’ve left Kyle Field with a win, including a Mississippi State team that looks much improved. 

The SEC is wide open and this Texas A&M squad, at its best, can play with anybody left on the schedule. They can win at LSU and Missouri and Texas. All three of those teams are also flawed. Everything is in front of the Aggies and this performance can serve as the warning they needed to clean up the penalties and bone-headed plays. This could be a big season. Or, it can be another 8-4 campaign if the Aggies don’t fix these mistakes. 

Bears Down (on defense) 

The typical pattern for Baylor football returned after a one-week hiatus. Last week, the defense played well as the offense floundered in the three-point loss to Arizona State. This week against Oklahoma State, the defense was back to its old tricks. The Cowboys, fresh off firing head coach Mike Gundy, tied their season-high in scoring with 28. They scored 28 in Week 1 over UT-Martin. They then managed 15 combined points against Oregon and Tulsa. Oklahoma State is the 124th ranked scoring offense in the country. Baylor made them look explosive. 

Baylor now ranks 105th in scoring defense while allowing 28.8 points per game. Since the start of 2022, the Bears defense has allowed an average of 28.9 points per game and hasn’t had a season where they’ve allowed fewer than 26.7 per game. The defensive unit in 2025 ranks 71st in run defense, 58th in pass defense, 96th in sacks, 89th in tackles for loss, and 70th in turnovers forced. 

Baylor possesses a Big 12 championship level offense. The defense is subpar. The only team in the Big 12 allowing more points than the Bears? Oklahoma State. 

QB Controversy at UTEP 

What a difference a week made for UTEP quarterback Malachi Nelson. The former five-star recruit was good a week ago during the Miners’ loss to ULM, passing for 404 yards and three touchdowns. He was dreadful on Saturday night against La Tech, finishing the game with 73 yards and four interceptions on 38 attempts. One of those interceptions was returned 67 yards for a touchdown, so Nelson threw for six more yards to UTEP receivers than to La Tech defensive backs. 

Skyler Locklear, who started most of UTEP’s games last year, came in late in the game and led the Miners on their only touchdown drive of the game. He did throw a pick-six of his own, however, in the closing moments of the contest. Nelson has now completed under 50 percent of his passes in consecutive weeks and has more interceptions (9) than touchdown passes (8). 

UTEP is 108th in scoring offense at 20.8 points per game. The Miners need something to jumpstart them on offense. Maybe that’s Locklear. 

Owls Grounded at Navy

Rice head coach Scott Abell is quick to point out that his version of the option is not like the ones ran by the service academy. But in terms of game plan and effectiveness, what Rice and Navy wanted to do against each other in Week 5 was virtually the same. The loser was always going to be the team forced to throw the ball more. A quick look at the box score reveals that Rice threw the ball 21 times to only 13 for Navy. The result? A 21-13 win for the Midshipmen. 

Navy has been running its offense for years while the Owls are new to it. That familiarity showed up throughout the game. Navy finished with 283 yards and three touchdowns on 48 carries. Rice ran the ball 39 times for 120 yards and didn’t reach the end zone on the ground. The groundwork is being laid but it’ll be another year or two before we see what the Abell offense can truly do. 

The state of Texas 

The 13 FBS teams in the Lone Star State are a combined 37-19 overall on the season. But take out the two Conference USA programs – UTEP and Sam Houston – and the state of Texas looks even more impressive. Sam and UTEP are a combined 1-8 on the year. Everyone else is a combined 36-11. Take out losses to fellow FBS teams in Texas and the 11 programs not in Conference USA are 31-6. That’s pretty incredible.  

Who are the Contenders? 

Of the 13 FBS programs in Texas, at least seven feel like legit contenders in their respective conferences. Texas A&M and Texas are both alive in the SEC and ranked in the AP Top 10. Texas Tech is the betting favorite to win the Big 12 and a three-point loss on the road to the defending Big 12 champion doesn’t disqualify TCU. Houston is 4-0 and deserves respect until the Cougars lose a conference game. In the G5 ranks, North Texas is an American Conference contender after starting 5-0 for the first time since the 1950s and Texas State might be the class of the Sun Belt West. Teams like SMU, Baylor, and UTSA could climb back into the mix over the next couple of weeks. We’re trending towards 11 bowl teams. 

If I had an AP vallot, it’d look like this 

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State 
3. Miami
4. Ole Miss
5. Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma 
7. Indiana
8. Penn State 
9. Texas Tech
10. Alabama  
11. Texas 
12. Vanderbilt 
13. Georgia 
14. Tennessee 
15. Iowa State
16. Missouri 
17. LSU
18. Georgia Tech
19. Michigan
20. Illinois 
21. Florida State 
22. BYU
23. Notre Dame 
24. Memphis 
25. Utah