Here are DCTF's superlatives from another exciting weekend of Texas college football.

Best Win - Texas

Let me be frank. Texas A&M had the most convincing win in a 51-10 thrashing of Mississippi State. But I'm putting Texas's too-close-for-comfort 29-26 win over TCU as the "best" win because of the postseason implications. On a Saturday where No.4-ranked Florida State and No.5-ranked Washington had to overcome deficits, Texas stayed in the College Football Playoff hunt when a loss would've bounced them.

The problem with Texas is it can't close a game to save it's life. A 21-0 lead over Houston turned into a game-winning fourth down stop for the Texas defense. A 27-7 lead over Kansas State? That evaporated in about two-and-a-half minutes. The Longhorns led TCU 26-6 at half time and needed a Quinn Ewers bomb to Adonai Mitchell on third down to ice the game. At what point does the magic they've forced themselves to use run out?

Back-Breaking Loss of the Day - Houston

At 4–5 entering Saturday, Houston needed two wins in its final three games to reach bowl eligibility. Cincinnati felt like a program begging for the end of the season at 2–7 with first-year head coach Scott Satterfield dropping phrases such as an "embarrassing" lack of discipline and "Whoever wants to show up in the locker room tomorrow, we'll work on that," in last week's press conference. Instead, the Bearkats gained positive momentum for 2024 with a 24-14 win over Houston. Quarterback Donovan Smith threw three interceptions, and Houston's offense had a meager 165 yards of total offense with three minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter.

Houston now needs to win against Oklahoma State and travel to UCF to get to a bowl game in their first year in the Big 12. Saturday was a game they needed, and they laid an egg.

Play of the Day - Texas WR Jordan Whittington

This is a play that every high school football coach would show his team at the beginning of the season to emphasize effort.

Quinn Ewers, perhaps a tad rusty from two weeks off, underthrows a deep shot to Xavier Worthy that is picked off by TCU's Millard Bradford. Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington comes from across the field, misses the first tackle, then gets up and chases Bradford down to force a fumble and give Texas the ball back. Two plays later, given a second chance, Ewers and Worthy connect for a 45-yard gain and Texas kicks a field goal.

Is it a massive leap to say, in a game Texas won by three points, Whittington's hustle play won the game?

Honorable mention play of the day: Texas Tech WR Jerand Bradley's game-winning catch, but more on that later.

Quote of the Week - TCU Quarterback Josh Hoover

Quote of the Week Runner-Up - Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher

This sums up the Jimbo Fisher era.

 

The "Ball Don't Lie" Play of the Weekend - SMU

North Texas was hanging tough in the final installment of their "Safeway Bowl" rivalry with SMU, trailing 17-14 coming out of halftime. Then North Texas quarterback Chandler Rogers tried to roll right and seemingly coughed up a fumble for a touchdown, only for the refs to rule it an incomplete pass. A couple plays later, Rogers rolled to his left on 3rd-and-7 and coughed up the ball on an unforced error.

SMU used a dominant second half to cruise past North Texas 45-21 and remain in the driver's seat for a American Athletic Conference championship and the New Year's Six Bowl berth it brings. They need wins against Memphis and Navy to do so.

The "1000 Football IQ" Coaching Decision of the Day - Texas Tech HC Joey McGuire

With less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Kansas appeared to have committed a brutal blunder when third-string quarterback Cole Ballard ran up the middle to the three-yard-line down 13-10. The Jayhawks had one timeout remaining and the clock was running, which meant they would have to play for a field goal instead of going for the touchdown. Then Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire called a timeout to stop the clock with 35 seconds left. The FS1 announcers and I wondered aloud what he was doing bailing Kansas out.

Well, there's a reason I'm not a Division I football coach. Texas Tech forced an incomplete pass on the ensuing third-and-goal. Then, quarterback Behren Morton completed passes of 16, 14 and 32 yards to set up Gino Garcia's game-winning field goal. 

Texas Tech is now 5–5 and needs one win in its final two games to gain bowl eligibility.

The "Chess, not Checkers" Mind Game of the Week - Texas A&M QB Max Johnson's Stunt Double

Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson was doubtful all week heading into the Mississippi State game after a rib injury last week against Ole Miss. But hours before kickoff, a mysterious man in a Texas A&M #14 warm-up shirt was spotted throwing left-handed passes, the only "athlete" on the field with a hat pulled low over his face. Meredith Seaver, a photographer for The Eagle, snapped a close-up picture to prove this man was a Max Johnson decoy. 

Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork identified the quarterback as backup Blake Bost. Bost apparently couldn't find his warm-up top during pregame, and since his locker is next to Johnson's, the injured QB let him use his shirt. Bjork assured this wasn't a case of gamesmanship. We'll take his word for it, but it would've been a lot funnier if it was an intentional bluff.

The Ricky Bobby "I'm embarrassed, I thought I felt it" Team of the Week - Texas State

It was a party for the ages in San Marcos last week. Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne and university president Kelly Damphousse jumped in the river to celebrate the Bobcats getting bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014. Let's be clear - they should've celebrated. It was a huge accomplishment.

But Texas State looked like they were still groggy Saturday in a 31-23 loss to Coastal Carolina that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicates. Coastal Carolina, even without record-setting quarterback Grayson McCall, didn't have to break a sweat until the last minutes when a Texas State onside kick allowed the Bobcats to tack on some respect points. Texas State committed 12 penalties for 122 yards.

Honorable mention: Oklahoma State for losing 45-3 to UCF the week after Bedlam.

The "We're onto basketball season" School of the Week - Baylor

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman dropped his annual college football coaches hot seat temperature check in mid-October, which stated Baylor head coach Dave Aranda may have to make staff changes if the season went haywire. However, the higher-ups' belief in him was still strong. That was when Baylor was 2–4 and seemingly on pace for a five-win season. The Bears are now 3–7 after Saturday's 59-25 thrashing against Kansas State and will be underdogs in their final two games, at TCU and then hosting West Virginia.

This year was supposed to indicate the program's direction after they followed up a Big 12 Championship in 2021 with a disappointing 6–7 record in 2022. Baylor's bottomed out for many reasons, but the bottom line is they've gone backward in 2023. With every loss, Aranda's future becomes more in doubt. 

Baylor fans are ready to cheer on their No.20-ranked basketball team and freshman guard Ja'Kobe Walter, who scored 28 points in his debut against Auburn.

The Michael Corleone "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" Team of the Week- Sam Houston

Don't look now, but Sam Houston has gone on a two-game win streak after a brutal 0–8 start to open up their FBS tenure. It's been a tough year in Huntsville, but credit to the Bearkats for showing resolve to beat Louisiana Tech 42-27. We've said all year Sam Houston was better than their record, but they've proven it in the last two weeks.

Senior quarterback Keegan Shoemaker ignited one of Sam Houston's best offensive days of the year, completing 18-of-28 passes for 269 yards and tacking on 54 rush yards as well.