Only six of the 13 FBS programs in the Lone Star State are in action in Week 7 as the four Big 12 schools, SMU, Texas A&M, and Sam Houston are idle. The Texas programs were a combined 6-3 in a successful Week 6 and are 42-30 on the season. 

Week 7 is headlined by the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma. The Longhorns enter as two-score favorites in a game that rarely follows the script. UTSA faces Rice in a game that should figure heavily into bowl contention. North Texas hopes to solidify itself as a conference contender against FAU. 

1. Can Texas avoid an upset in the Red River Rivalry? 

The top-ranked Horns are the clear favorite heading into the State Fair Street Fight against the Sooners on Saturday, but is 14.5 points too much? After all, only one game in the series between the two since 2014 ended in a 14-point or more win by either side. The blowouts in the series took place in the early 2000s when the two teams took turns embarrassing each other in south Dallas. 

The wacky and weird rivalry is the only reason a bettor could lean toward the Sooners. Texas is better at every position on offense by a wide margin. Even if we call the defenses a wash, those units don’t play against each other. The Texas defense will have a much easier time stopping the Oklahoma offense than the Oklahoma defense has of stopping the Texas offense. Like the Tennessee game, the Sooners defense could keep the score close, but the outcome was never in doubt in the loss to the Volunteers. 

Expect the same to be true in the Cotton Bowl. Maybe Oklahoma gets off to a hot start like last year and makes the burnt orange faithful doubt the outcome for a few drives, but it is more likely that a healthy Quinn Ewers returns to score more points than Oklahoma could muster in eight quarters. This one has more chance to look like 2022 than 2023. 

2. Is North Texas an AAC contender? 

The Mean Green are 4-1 and lurking in the shadows as an American Athletic Conference contender coming off an idle week. North Texas possesses one of the best offenses in the nation, led by transfer quarterback Chandler Morris and offensive-minded head coach Eric Morris. It also possesses an improving defense. Not a great defense, by any stretch, but one evolving into respectable, and that’s all the Mean Green need. They were within a score of the big dogs last year – Tulane, UTSA, Memphis. Continued steps forward from the defense could be what puts them over the hump in 2024. It starts Saturday against FAU on the road. 

3. How does UTEP respond to an 0-5 start? 

The Miners need to look at their last opponent – Sam Houston – as a blueprint in how to weather and overcome an early storm. The Bearkats started Year 1 as an FBS program last season with eight straight losses. Even their own fan base began to wonder if moving up from FCS was the right decision. But the team never panicked. They finished the year with three wins over their last four and used that to fuel a 5-1 start to the 2024 season. 

Scotty Walden’s UTEP squad is up against a similar foe – doubt. Sam Houston never gave in to the temptation, but can the Miners win the same battle? Year 1 wasn’t going to be easy for Walden, especially with a front-loaded schedule that didn’t offer much better than a 1-5 or 2-4 start if UTEP played well. The team hasn’t played well and that’s equaled an 0-5 start heading into a road game at Western Kentucky. 

Even if WKU wins, UTEP can’t let an 0-6 start stop progress. Walden took over a job that requires multiple years to turn around. Laying a foundation over the second half of the season matters more than his record after six games. 

4. UTSA or Rice? 

These two teams enter the Week 7 contest in Space City a combined 3-7. Those three wins include UTSA victories over Kennesaw State and Houston Christian and a Rice triumph over Texas Southern. That means the Roadrunners and Owls are a combined 0-7 against teams that played FBS football in 2023. Not great, Bob. 

But someone has to win this week and it’ll provide a nice jolt in the arm for that squad. When you’re starving, any crumble is a feast. UTSA is a 6.5-point favorite on the road. The advanced stats tend to favor Rice. 

5. Does Texas State exorcise demons against Arkansas State? 

Arkansas State scored 77 points the last time these two teams touched the field in the worst loss G.J. Kinne has ever suffered as a head coach. The Red Wolves scored three non-offensive touchdowns and rushed for SEVEN more in the 46-point victory. Two interceptions aided in Texas State’s loss despite gaining 539 yards and picking up 32 first downs. It is a safe bet that Kinne & Co. are plenty motivated to return the favor.