We’re in the horrible purgatory between spring ball and media days in the summer when all we can do is pretend to love the NBA playoffs (Go Spurs Go) and hope that the summer flies by so football can come back.

Building the 2026 summer magazine only makes me miss college football even more. The tour I take to each of the 13 FBS schools helps provide numerous answers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t leave those stops with a few remaining questions. 

As we enter the dog days of summer, here is my top question for each Power Four team in the state. We’ll do the G6 programs later in the week. 

Baylor Bears 

Question: Does DJ Lagway have weapons around him in the pass game? 

Baylor lost its top five players in receptions from last year, including the top four wide receivers – Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson, and Kobe Prentice – and star tight end Michael Trigg. Running back Bryson Washington, who transferred to Auburn in the offseason, was fifth on the team with 18 catches. Those five players combined for 260 catches for 3,251 yards and 27 touchdowns. That accounted for 84 percent of the receptions, 87.5 percent of the receiving yards, and 87 percent of the touchdown catches. 

Replacing QB Sawyer Robertson with former five-star and SEC Freshman of the Year DJ Lagway could offer the Bears upside at that position. But it is hard to argue Baylor came close to replacing the losses at wide receiver and tight end with equal or better talent. The returning leader in receptions is RB Caden Knighten with 11. WR1 out of spring ball – Louis Brown IV – caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown in four games last year. Baylor spent more money on defense and that means the wide receiver room isn’t as talented, though additions such as Dre’lon Miller (Colorado) and Gavin Freeman (Oklahoma State) provide options. 

Houston Cougars 

Question: What version of Makhi Hughes do the Cougars get? 

Hughes was one of the prized possessions in the transfer portal cycle in the 2025 offseason after rushing for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023 and 1,401 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024 – both seasons at Tulane. His star has faded, however, after a disappearing act in 2025 after transferring to Oregon and only managing to record 17 carries for 70 yards for a Ducks team that reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. 

Hughes didn’t transfer back to Tulane, but he came as close as he could, reuniting with head coach Willie Fritz and offensive coordinator Slade Nagle at Houston. The Cougars were forced to rely heavily on the legs of QB Conner Weigman, and while he stepped up to the plate by leading the team with 11 rushing touchdowns, the staff hopes to lighten that workload in 2026. That’s where Hughes comes in. If he can return to the form that made him an All-Conference player at Tulane, Houston has fixed its running back room and squarely positioned itself in the Big 12 hunt. 

SMU Mustangs 

Question: Does potential turn into production for the new homegrown starters? 

SMU’s success in the ACC has allowed head coach Rhett Lashlee to shift the recruiting focus from transfer-heavy to high school-based. He says that’s improved the talent on the roster and made the team deeper. Those players on the offensive side of the ball include wide receivers Jalen Cooper and Isaiah Robertson, running back Dramekco Green, and offensive tackle Dramodd Odoms. Defensively, safeties Tyren Polley Jr. and Sael Reyes come to mind. 

But will that potential he sees on the practice field translate into in-game production? We’ll find out in 2026 as a lot of those homegrown signees are expected to step into bigger roles this season. Miami is the betting favorite to win the ACC but the Mustangs are in that next tier with Louisville. It’d be nice if those new faces were afforded time to grow into the challenge, but the SMU schedule won’t allow it. The Ponies travel to Florida State in Week 1 and to Louisville in Week 3. So, we’ll know if SMU made the right bet by the start of October. 

TCU Horned Frogs 

Question: Can the offense increase the rushing numbers and decrease the turnovers?   

Diagnosing the offensive problems in Fort Worth over the three years that Kendal Briles was the coordinator didn’t require a doctorate degree. A lack of run game combined with a propensity to turn the ball over too often has kept the Frogs from regaining the footing they had in 2022 as a Big 12 and national contender. 

TCU was +6 in turnover margin in 2022. They’ve been -12 since the start of 2023. TCU was third in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game with 193.27 while averaging 5.12 yards per carry in 2022. Since, the Horned Frogs have ranked 10th, 13th, and 14th over the last three seasons in rushing yards per game while averaging fewer than four yards a carry in 2024 and 2025.   

That’s why Sonny Dykes hired Gordon Sammis as his offensive coordinator. At UConn, his Huskies only turned the ball over TWO times in 2025. They had seven different players rush for 100 yards in a game since the start of 2024. The plan is to be more efficient on first and second down – mostly by running the ball better – and, in theory, that will put the passing game in fewer positions to throw costly interceptions. 

Texas Longhorns 

Question: Does the Will Muschamp hire work out for Texas? 

Steve Sarkisian’s decision to replace defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski with Will Muschamp was a shock to many. I’ll admit that I had to check extra hard to make sure it wasn’t spam when the Texas athletic department’s email popped up on my phone. The Horns never ranked lower than 28th nationally in scoring defense over the last four seasons – something that Sark’s offense did in 2024 (29th) and 2025 (41st). The last time the offense finished better in scoring than the defense did was in 2022 and that was by four spots. 

But Sarkisian believes the Longhorns can be even better defensively if they can marry the supremely talented players on the roster with an aggressive scheme and a fiery coach. That’s the definition of Muschamp. It’s a risk. Muschamp hasn’t been a play caller on defense since before the pandemic. He has been in the SEC in roles at Georgia, but if the move doesn’t work, it’ll be squarely on Sark.  

Texas A&M Aggies 

Question: How much better can Marcel Reed become? 

Reed was one of the reasons the Aggies started 11-0 and reached the CFP for the first time in school history. He’ll need to be THE reason if Texas A&M wants to return to those heights. That’s because they lost the offensive coordinator, top RB Le’Veon Moss, top WR K.C. Concepcion, a second-round draft pick at tight end, and four of the five starters along the offensive line. Mike Elko and his staff did great work in the portal, but it still falls on Reed to take the next step. 

Reed’s stat line from 2025 is impressive without context. He threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns to 12 interceptions while adding 493 yards and six scores on the ground. But further examination reveals some troubling cracks. He threw for zero touchdowns and four interceptions in the team’s two losses. In three games against ranked opponents, Reed threw for two touchdowns to five interceptions. His TD to INT ratio against Power Four opponents was 13 to 11. The 2026 schedule is harder and the Aggies need Reed to play better against the best competition to win 10+ games. 

Texas Tech 

Question: What is the ceiling if Brendan Sorsby is ultimately ruled ineligible? 

We’re working under the assumption that the sports wagering allegations against Sorsby result in his loss of college eligibility. Maybe hiring famed attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who won an historic victory in House v. NCAA, changes that, but we’ll wait and see. Until then, the plan for the Red Raiders is to start Kirk Francis until Will Hammond is healthy, which Joey McGuire said would be in Week 3. That is the Big 12 opener against Houston with Francis projected to start in Week 1 vs. Abilene Christian at home and then in Week 2 on the road against Oregon State. 

Tech will be heavy favorites in most of its games even without Sorsby because the schedule doesn’t include Utah, BYU, or Kansas State. Projected tough games like Houston and TCU are in Lubbock. The floor still seems high in West Texas because of the roster, but what is the ceiling? The thought was that Sorsby would turn Tech into national title contenders. Without him, it seems like the Red Raiders can only hope to replicate last season’s Big 12 title and one-and-done CFP showing.