The 2025 college football season ends Jan. 19 when Miami faces Indiana. But the season is over for the 13 FBS programs inside the state of Texas. It was a great year that fizzled a bit at the end with North Texas and SMU tripping up late and Texas Tech and Texas A&M combining for three points in two College Football Playoff appearances. 

The highlight is that as many as five teams could end the year ranked, which would break the previous record of three. Those five teams – Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas, Houston, and North Texas – all finished with 10 or more wins. Ten of the 13 FBS programs in the Lone Star State played in a bowl game with only Baylor, UTEP, and Sam Houston missing out on the postseason.  

With the season now behind us, let’s grade each team, continuing with the six programs in the G5. The Power Four grades were released on Tuesday.  

North Texas Mean Green 

Year 3 of the Eric Morris era will be etched in the history books of North Texas football for the rest of time. The Mean Green won 12 games, a school record, and were one victory away from winning the American Conference championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff. They also won a bowl game for the first time since 2013. 

Quarterback Drew Mestemaker, once a walk-on who never started a varsity game as quarterback at Vandegrift High School, led the nation in passing yards. Running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young became stars. The hire of defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity was another success as his unit improved from 34.2 points per game allowed in 2024 to 26.5 in 2025. 

Grade: A 

Rice Owls 

Scott Abell’s stated goal entering his first season as Rice head football coach was to reach a bowl game, and leave it to the smartest school in Texas to find a way in without winning six games. The Owls won five games in Abell’s first year, a one game improvement over 2024. More importantly, there was a buzz about Rice in 2025 that didn’t exist down the stretch last season and that’s the best way to grade a new hire after Year 1. 

The new-look option attack was fun to watch and improved as the season went on. Running back Quinton Jackson led a rushing attack that ranked fourth in the conference in rushing yards per game. The defense was hit-and-miss throughout the season, mostly due to a poor secondary that ranked 106th in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game at 240.2. 

Grade: C

UTSA Roadrunners 

It is a credit to Jeff Traylor that a seven-win season feels like such a disappointment in the Alamo City. That mark was celebrated when he first arrived in 2020. But now, that’s well short of the standard that he set for the program. UTSA went 6-6 in the regular season for the second straight year and is 8-8 in the AC since the start of 2024. Road troubles continue to plague the Roadrunners. UTSA has won three straight bowl games and has reached the postseason in each of Traylor’s six years in charge, but contending for conference championships is the expectation in San Antonio and his Roadrunners weren’t in that race. 

Grade: C+

Texas State Bobcats 

The situation at Texas State is like what we described for the rival Roadrunners. G.J. Kinne inherited a program that prayed for a season that ended with a bowl trip, much less a bowl win. But that no longer feels like enough in San Marcos because of the expectations he helped bid. The Bobcats entered 2025 with Sun Belt Conference championship aspirations. They lost the first five conference games, however, as the defense bottomed-out. Kinne & Co. did rattle off a three-game winning streak to close the regular season and salvage a bowl trip. QB Brad Jackson is a star. 

Grade: C+

UTEP Miners 

The Miners were a trendy pick to reach a bowl game and maybe even push for contention in a wide-open Conference USA. Instead, head coach Scotty Walden’s group won one fewer game (2) than it did in 2024, his first in charge. UTEP was 11th in scoring offense in Conference USA at 21.6 points per game if we only include contests against other FBS opponents. The defense, which was on the field for far too long because of the struggling offense, was ninth in CUSA in scoring defense while allowing 30.4 points per game. A conference-high 24 turnovers led to a -12 turnover margin that was 129th in the country. 

Grade: D-

Sam Houston Bearkats 

Year 1 of the Phil Longo era was a hard crash for the Bearkat supporters. Sam Houston won 10 games and reached a bowl in 2024, only the second season as an FBS program. The 2025 season was always going to be a struggle considering how long Longo was hired into the portal season and the fact that the Bearkats couldn’t play home game on campus because of construction on Bowers Stadium. Sam Houston was last in Conference USA in scoring offense with 17.8 points per game. The defense was also last in the conference while allowing 37.8 points per game. 

Grade: D