We’re seven weeks through the college football season and each of Texas’ 12 FBS teams are at least at the halfway mark of the year. Crazy, right? TCU remains the class of the state with a perfect record after a comeback win over previously unbeaten Oklahoma State. Texas remained in the Big 12 title picture with a gutsy win over Iowa State and the Cyclones’ five-star culture. UTSA and North Texas are set for a collision course in Week 8. And is it time for the Aggies to explore meaningful snaps for a freshman quarterback? 

The 411 provides readers with four truths, one question, and one prediction, following a full slate of action over the weekend. 

FOUR TRUTHS 

Another test awaits the Longhorns: Texas is in prove-it mode in 2022. A revenge tour, so to speak, for Steve Sarkisian’s group. The exams began in Week 6 when the Longhorns needed to prove capable of playing a four-quarter football game against a rival. They did just that in the 49-0 trouncing of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The next test came last week in a slugfest against Iowa State and the Cyclones’ “five-star culture”. Texas isn’t known for winning close, competitive games over the last decade, especially if the offense isn’t humming. But Texas bucked the trend and held on to beat Iowa State and remain in the Big 12 title picture. The defense is only allowing 18.3 points per game this season compared to 31.1 in 2021. 

The next step is to win a road game against a quality opponent. Texas is 1-5 on the road during Sark’s tenure. The Longhorns went 1-4 in 2021 with their lone win coming against a TCU program that fired its coach before the end of the season. Texas is 0-1 in road games this campaign thanks to the overtime loss at Texas Tech. The trip to Oklahoma State on Saturday marks the first trip out of state for Texas in 2022. The Longhorns only leave the state three times this season. The other two come later in the year with trips to Kansas State and Kansas. 

Conference USA runs through Texas: A contest between UTSA and North Texas in Week 8 likely determines the West Division representative in the 2022 C-USA championship game. The Roadrunners dropped the 2021 matchup to the Mean Green, 45-23, in Denton in a game that cost them a perfect undefeated record. North Texas ran for 390 yards and six touchdowns on 60 attempts in the last meeting. The two teams are 1-1 against each other since Jeff Traylor arrived in San Antonio with UTSA winning the 2020 matchup, 49-17. 

The 2021 loss to North Texas is the only defeat suffered by Traylor against a West Division team. He is 15-3 in C-USA play. The other two losses came to UAB and FAU in 2020. The Roadrunners were 7-1 in conference play a year ago and sit with a 3-0 record so far in 2022. North Texas is also 3-0 in C-USA play thanks to wins over UTEP, FAU, and La Tech. The Mean Green are averaging 312.6 rushing yards a game and 6.74 yards an attempt against C-USA opponents. 

The difference in the game might be home-field advantage. Traylor is 15-2 at the Alamodome in his third year as head coach of UTSA. The Roadrunners were perfect at home in 2021. The only home losses in the Traylor era were to Army in 2020 and Houston in triple overtime to start the 2022 campaign. North Texas is 6-6 on the road since the start of 2020. 

TCU can virtually clinch a Big 12 berth with a win: The Horned Frogs overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to take Oklahoma State into overtime and eventually beat the Cowboys to remain perfect on the season and take a spot in the driver’s seat to claim one of the two spots in the Big 12 title game this December. A win over Kansas State in Week 8 would nearly guarantee one spot for the Horned Frogs barring a late-season collapse. Kansas State is the only other team in the Big 12 without a conference loss. A win over the Wildcats on Saturday night would give TCU the tiebreaker over Oklahoma State and Kansas State. The schedule still consists of Baylor and Texas, but the Horned Frogs would have some margin of error thanks to the hot start. TCU can lose a game, and maybe even two, and still reach the Big 12 championship game if it can sneak past Kansas State. 

Texas State’s defense is bowl ready: The Bobcats are 3-4 with a home game against Southern Miss slated for Week 8. A bowl game is the goal for head coach Jake Spavital’s program – a first in school history if they can pull it off. Those chances increased with a win over App a few weeks back. Texas State is 3-0 at home, and the Southern Miss game is in San Marcos. The defense is the main reason. The unit is only allowing 12 points per game in those three home victories. The unit is in the middle to top half of the Sun Belt rankings in almost every statistical category. Seventh in points allowed per game at 24.7. Fourth in opponents third down conversion rate. Sixth in sacks. Fifth in red zone scoring defense. They’ve forced 12 turnovers. If Texas State doesn’t get to six wins in 2022, it won’t be because of the defensive unit. 

ONE QUESTION 

Should Texas A&M play true freshman quarterback Conner Weigman? 

The Aggies sit at 3-3 exiting the bye week with a road trip to South Carolina in Week 8. Texas A&M requires an offensive jumpstart to salvage the 2022 season. Conference championship hopes are out the window, but progress towards the 2023 campaign remains the goal. Texas A&M is averaging 21.5 points per game (111th in the nation) and 213.3 passing yards per game, which puts Jimbo Fisher’s offense at 97th in the land, nestled between Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette. 

Neither quarterback started by Texas A&M has impressed with both playing in four games. Haynes King has completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 763 yards and five touchdowns to five interceptions. Max Johnson, an LSU transfer, is completing 60.56 percent of his attempts for 517 yards and three scores to zero interceptions. King offers more big plays, and a few more mistakes. Johnson limits potential mistakes at the expense of a vertical passing game. 

But if the 2022 season is a formality and mostly an audition for the 2023 campaign, why not give Weigman a try? The true freshman from Cypress Bridgeland was a four-star prospect who accounted for more than 4,300 total yards and 51 touchdowns as a junior. He dealt with nagging injuries as a senior. Fisher needs to know if his future starting quarterback is on campus or if he needs an instant starter in the transfer portal. 

ONE PREDICTION 

Rice reaches six wins 

The Owls let a win slip away on the road in Week 7 in a 17-14 loss aided by Rice’s three interceptions. Instead of 4-3 entering a winnable game against La Tech, Rice is 3-4 and needing to go on a run to reach a bowl game. The Owls finish the year with a trip to Western Kentucky, a home game against UTSA, and a road contest against North Texas. Those are arguably the three best teams currently in C-USA. To reach six wins, the Owls need to go on a run and that starts against La Tech. Home games against Charlotte and UTEP follow, so give me Rice to be 6-4 after Nov. 3.