The state of Texas went 5-3 at the FBS level in Week 6 with Houston, Texas, TCU, UTSA, and Texas State collecting wins. UTEP, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech lost. The Aggies and Red Raiders lost to top-10 teams. SMU, North Texas, Baylor, and Rice were idle. 

1. Quinn Ewers makes statement: The former no. 1-ranked recruit in the nation proved why he arrived in Austin with such high expectations in the 49-0 win over Oklahoma. Backup quarterback Hudson Card played well in relief over the past few weeks, but it became clear early on that Ewers allows the Longhorns offense to soar. His ability to push the ball down the field changes everything for Steve Sarkisian’s offense. It allows more room for the talented running back room to work. It gives guys like J.T. Sanders plenty of room to operate in the middle of the field. And it puts defenses in the position to defend every blade of grass available. 

Ewers entered the game with only 58 snaps as a starting quarterback at the college level. He left high school early, skipping his senior season to redshirt at Ohio State. He never threw a pass as a Buckeye, and he was injured in the second quarter of the Week 2 contest against Alabama earlier this season. He’s still raw, but his talent is undeniable. He’s the best quarterback at Texas since McCoy and Vince Young. 

Ewers was 21 of 31 for 289 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception. Seven different receivers caught at least two of those completions with Joddan Whittington and Sanders tying for the team-lead with five catches each. Sanders scored twice, while Xavier Worthy and Keilan Robinson also caught touchdown passes. The fact that Texas’ offense was so successful and explosive despite Worthy only catching three passes for 29 yards is a testament to varied aspect of Texas’ passing attack. Texas averaged 13.8 yards a completion. That number was around 8.6 with Card in charge. 

2. Hot as the Son(ny): The Horned Frogs are the hottest team in Texas after their fifth-straight win to start the season in a thriller over Kansas. TCU is a legit Big 12 contender and the only undefeated FBS team in Texas. In fact, Sonny Dykes’ program is the only team in the state with fewer than two losses. The Horned Frogs are 5-0 for the first time since 2017, when Dykes was on the staff as an analyst between head coaching stops at Cal and SMU. 

Max Duggan and the passing game is a main reason why TCU went from missing a bowl game in 2021 to on the cusp of conference contention a year later. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has quarterback Max Duggan playing his best football. The senior gunslinger started his 33rd game in TCU in the seven-point win over Kansas in Week 6. He finished with 363 total yards and three touchdown passes. Quentin Johnston reached his potential with 14 catches for 267 yards and three scores. 

3. Behren Morton can ball: I was on the recruiting beat at The Austin American Statesman and for USA TODAY when Morton was carving up defenses at Eastland High School. He was an impressive prospect with a live arm who spurned plenty of “bigger” offers to stay in West Texas and play for the Red Raiders. His loyalty through a few quarterback battles paid off Saturday when he earned the start against Oklahoma State when Donovan Smith was an injured scratch. Morton entered the season the third-string option behind Tyler Shough and Smith. 

Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley called a game that suggested the Texas Tech coaching staff was telling the truth all offseason when it asserted that they had three capable quarterbacks on the roster. Morton was excellent considering the setting and the competition, especially before an apparent leg injury hobbled him in the second half. Morton was 39 of 62 for 379 yards and two touchdowns to one interception in the 41-31 loss. He added 46 yards and a score as a runner. Texas Tech gets a much-needed open week before a home date against West Virginia on Oct. 22 to figure out its quarterback position. 

4. Clayton Tune discovers new weapons: Tune completed 36 of his 57 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception. He also ran for a score and 20 yards on seven carries. Dell was his usual self with 81 yards and a touchdown on a team-high 10 carries. But the difference in the second half for Houston was the emergence of playmakers at the wide receiver. The same players I was critical of through the first five weeks of the season, and even in the first half of the Mempis game.

Sam Brown had a breakout performance with nine catches for 116 yards. Christian Trahan added five grabs for 73 yards from his tight end position. True freshman Matthew Golden had four receptions for 55 yards. And Carter scored on four of his touches. Being able to spread the ball around makes everyone’s job easier, and it should eventually allow Dell to see 1-on-1 coverage in the slot. For too many weeks, the passing attack was Dell, dump offs to running backs, and screens. The second half against Memphis should allow those new guys to build confidence.  

5. Secondary lets down SMU: The secondary concerns for SMU became apparent in the loss to TCU in Week 4. The Horned Frogs completed 22 of 29 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. The SMU defense did record five sacks, but if the pass rush wasn’t producing negative plays, the secondary was giving up big ones. The trend continued against a UCF offense that would rather run the ball. The Knights decided in the second half to abandon the normal game plan for a pass-happy attack to pick on the weakness of the Mustangs defense, and that allowed UCF to run away with the game. UCF completed 22 of 31 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns. The Knights were only averaging 206.75 yards per game through the air in their first four contests. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee’s ability to scramble and buy time with his feet kept the Mustangs from racking up more than one sack. 

6. Roadrunners remain on C-USA mountaintop: UTSA weathered a tough three-game stretch to start the 2022 campaign to begin Conference USA play 2-0 following a three-point win over Western Kentucky. The Roadrunners are now 3-0 against the Hilltoppers since the start of the 2021 season, including a win over Western Kentucky to win the conference title last December. All three were one possession games. Winning coin-flip contests is a Jeff Traylor parlor trick. The Roadrunners are now 15-4 in one-possession games in the Traylor era. In fact, 19 of UTSA’s 32 games in the Traylor tenure were one-possession games. The only three undefeated teams in C-USA play are North Texas, Rice, and UTSA. The Roadrunners are the favorites to repeat and a 10-2 season isn't off the table if the pass defense improves. 

7. The scheme didn’t cost Texas A&M: The Aggies are a quarterback away from contending with the top teams in the SEC. The top-ranked Crimson Tide coached by Nick Saban looked eerily similar on offense as the Aggies in 2022. A quarterback matters. Ask the Longhorns. The Texas A&M roster is the fifth-most talented roster in the country according to the Blue Chip Ratio. Evan Stewart is a budding star. Devon Achane is an established one. The Wrecking Crew defense is stacked, and the offensive line held its own for possibly the first time this season. But it wasn’t enough. 

As the ball sailed out of bounds on the final play of the game, the obvious emerged: Haynes King is the guy. The attempt on that fourth down didn’t even reach the end zone or give his team a chance to win. King was 25 of 46 for 253 yards and two touchdowns to just one interception. 

Alabama was ripe for an upset. Texas A&M just didn’t have a quarterback to make the big throw. 

8. Tenure defining win for TXST: Jake Spavital needed a proof-of-concept victory to keep faith in his tenure. A 12-point win over App State serves as exactly that for the fourth-year head coach. The 36-24 win is the biggest of Spavital’s reign. Texas State was 7-18 in Sun Belt play entering this weekend. The Bobcats had only beaten three different Sun Belt teams – Georgia State (2018), South Alabama (2019, 2021), and Arkansas State (2020, 2021) – in that span. Only the 2018 Georgia State team finished .500 or better. The five seven individual squads Texas State beat in Sun Belt in Spavital’s first three years on the job were a combined 24-58. In short, App State is the first good team the Bobcats knocked off in a long time. If Spav is in San Marcos in 2023, we can look back on Oct. 8. 

9. The Miners run out of gas: The benefit of a Week 0 game for UTEP was exposure. The downside was evident Saturday night in Ruston when the Miners withered away against La Tech in what was the sixth consecutive game for a team that lacks depth. It was also the second road trip in a row. UTEP receives its bye week in Week 7, and it feels one week too late. 

10. The state is healthy: Fielding 12 FBS teams is taxing on the in-state FBS teams. The depth of talent inside our borders will be tested further when Sam Houston moves up to FBS and joins C-USA soon. There is always talent and resources for places such as Texas and Texas A&M, and even the likes of UTSA and North Texas. But all 12? That’s hard. 

But the 2022 season proves state-wide progress is possible. The only teams with losing records exiting Week 6 are SMU and UTEP. The Mustangs are on a three-game losing streak, but two of those losses – Maryland and TCU – are Power Five teams. And the other is future Big 12 member UCF. UTEP reached a bowl game in 2021.