Here is a recap of everything that happened in Week 10 of Texas college football so you can be prepared for the Sunday dinner and Monday water cooler conversations.

1. The Year of the Coach

Rhett Lashlee has SMU at 5–0 in conference play and controls its own destiny for the ACC Championship Game. Before SMU, no team had ever gone 2–0 in conference play in the first year transitioning from G5 to P4.

KC Keeler has Sam Houston at 7–2 a year after starting its FBS tenure at 0–8.

Joey McGuire earned his highest-ranked win in an upset against No.11 Iowa State on the road, moving Texas Tech to 6–3.

The Willie Fritz era in Houston began with a 27-7 loss to UNLV, but the Cougars just beat No. 17-ranked Kansas State to move to a surprising 4–5 overall.

Before the loss on Saturday, Mike Elko had Texas A&M off to its best SEC start since 2012 in his first season. 

Steve Sarkisian is 19–3 in the last season and a half after starting his tenure 13–12.

2. SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons should be a Broyles Award contender for top assistant coach

In three years under Symons, SMU has vaulted from 123rd in the nation in rushing defense as a G5 team to first in the ACC with 90 yards allowed per game. The Mustangs are second in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing 21.8 points per game. SMU built an offensive identity in the late 2010s and early 20s, but Symons has brought balance to the Hilltop.

3. Bryson Washington showing shades of Abram Smith

Baylor’s 2021 Big 12 Championship team was built off a powerful run game, specifically 1,600-yard rusher Abram Smith. Richard Reese seemed like the heir apparent to Smith after winning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, but two seasons later, Bryson Washington has officially taken the torch after rushing for a career-high 196 yards and four touchdowns in the win over TCU.

Washington (6-foot, 203) and Smith (5’11’, 221) have similar frames and a physical, downhill running style that allows them to fight for extra yards.

4. TCU got out coached

According to whom? Sonny Dykes. In his post game press conference, Dykes said that Baylor outcoached TCU down the stretch in a 37-34 loss. 

Dykes elected to punt on 4th and 2 from Baylor’s 46-yard line with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter, which Baylor then scored on. On Baylor’s game-winning drive, Aranda went for it on 4th and 9 with 12 seconds left from TCU’s 44-yard line, a high-risk bet considering failing to convert would give TCU the ball just outside field goal range. 

In a league with parity like the Big 12, performance in one-score games are the difference between making the College Football Playoff and missing a bowl game. In 2022, TCU was 6–1 in one-score games. Since then, they’re 3–6.

5. It's still Tahj Time in Lubbock

Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks received a season-low seven first-half carries against Iowa State, but offensive coordinator Zach Kittley leaned on him with the game on the line. Brooks had 35 rushing yards and the game-winning touchdown on the final offensive drive. He now is second in school history for rushing yards and has 20 career 100-yard games.

6. Texas A&M lost both sides of the line of scrimmage for the first time under Elko

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and running back Raheim Morris carried the Gamecocks to 286 rushing yards in a stunning upset over No.10 Texas A&M. Morris came into the night averaging 46.7 yards per game in the last three games but totaled 144 yards and two scores on the Aggies.

But it wasn’t just the defensive side that got out-physicaled. Texas A&M failed to convert two 4th and half-a-yards deep in their territory, both leading to South Carolina points.

7. Houston continues to be the team nobody wants to play

Houston is on a 3–1 roll, with the most impressive win yet coming in a 24-19 upset over No.17 Kansas State. In the three wins, Houston has forced eight turnovers and lost two. Two fourth quarter interceptions on Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson helped the Cougars storm back from a 19-10 deficit.

In the three wins, Houston quarterback Zeon Chriss is averaging 101.66 yards passing a game, and the Cougars haven’t broken 300 yards of total offense in the last two games. Fritz is in hog heaven.

8. UTSA goes tight end by committee

UTSA lost tight end Oscar Cardenas, a program stalwart among Frank Harris and Rashad Wisdom, to a season-ending injury this week. How did the Roadrunners replace him? With three tight ends combining for four touchdowns. 

Houston Thomas led UTSA with six catches for 44 yards and two scores, while Dan Dishman had the most receiving yards (55) on three catches, one of which went for a touchdown. Patrick Overmyer added two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown as well.

9. Rice is playing with nothing to lose, which gives it its best chance to win

The delayed hook and ladder trick play was a microcosm of interim head coach Pete Alamar’s message to the team - to play fast and free. Playing without the pressure of a coach on the hot seat for the first time, Rice endured an over five-hour weather delay to upset Navy 24-10, holding the Midshipmen to 140 yards rushing.

10. The Skyler Cassity gamble has paid off for Sam Houston

KC Keeler made Skyler Cassity the youngest defensive coordinator in the FBS this offseason, and the now-30-year-old Cassity has rewarded that faith by allowing the Bearkats to win back-to-back FBS season-lowest scoring games, 10-7 over FIU and 9-3 over Louisiana Tech.

Louisiana Tech ran 43 plays in Sam Houston territory, and the Bearkats allowed just three points and forced four turnovers.