TEN THOUGHTS 

1. TCU punches its ticket: The outcome of the Big 12 title game might not matter for TCU’s College Football Playoff hopes following an advantageous week of results to close out the regular season. The most important was the Horned Frogs’ beatdown of Iowa State in Fort Worth. Losses by Ohio State, Clemson, and LSU means TCU could already be guaranteed a spot in the Final Four. Georgia is in, and so is Michigan. USC is also in play. But would a two-loss SEC team like Alabama or a one-loss Ohio State team that didn’t even win its division pass up a one-loss TCU if the Horned Frogs lose a close one to Kansas State? The good news for Sonny Dykes and company is that a win over the Wildcats makes the whole debate moot. 

2. The winning formula: Football doesn’t need to be rocket science, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Give your best players the ball in space and let them cook. Steve Sarkisian struggles with that concept at times, but not in crunch time against Baylor. Quinn Ewers committed an intentional grounding penalty on the first offensive drive for Texas that resulted in a safety. His fourth-quarter fumble was returned for a touchdown. If the Longhorns were going to win and keep conference title hopes alive, it’d be up to the backfield. They delivered. 

Bijan Robinson averaged 6.2 yards a carry and scored two touchdowns while moving his career rushing yards to fourth all-time in Texas' record books. Roschon Johnson added 77 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. The Longhorns averaged six yards a carry as a team when the yards were adjusted for sacks. Ewers hurt the overall average by recording -48 yards on six carries – five of them were sacks and the other was a touchdown run in the first half. Texas is at its best when it runs the football. Ewers’ struggles forced Sark’s hands, but that was for the best. 

3. Shapen not sharp: Baylor beats the Longhorns with more consistent play from its sophomore quarterback. Blake Shapen completed 18 of 36 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. For comparison, Ewers had 194 yards passing on 16 attempts. Take away a 47-yard touchdown bomb to Jaylen Ellis in the first quarter and the Bears didn’t record a single catch over 20 yards in the game. Texas focused on stopping the run and figured its secondary could bait Shapen into a few mistakes. An interception by Jaylan Ford – the leading candidate for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year – essentially ended the game in the fourth quarter. 

Baylor bet big on Shapen. Dave Aranda named him the starter in the spring despite the return of Gerry Bohanon after a 12-win 2021. Shapen simply hasn’t lived up to those expectations. His arm talent is unquestioned, but his fundamentals break down and he makes poor decisions at times. He also misses too many easy throws. He’ll need to improve to keep his job ahead of freshman Kyron Drones in the offseason. 

4. A cleansing win: The home win over LSU to close out a bumpy 2022 campaign doesn’t answer the tough questions facing Jimbo Fisher in the offseason. He’ll be pressed to hire an offensive coordinator with autonomy who can breathe some life into the Aggies offense. He’ll likely need to scramble to keep some of his top recruits from entering the transfer portal. And he’ll need to add a few late wins on the recruiting trail. But the pieces are there for a real run in the future if Fisher checks his pride and becomes a CEO. 

5. The hype is real: Joey McGuire arrived in Lubbock to much fanfare. The fan base immediately bought into his cult of personality before he coached a single down as a college football head coach. Well, that trust paid off with a 7-5 season that included home wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech – the first time in school history to beat both at home in the same season. The Red Raiders finished above .500 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2009, which was the last of the Mike Leach era. All this with three different quarterbacks starting four games each. Texas Tech goes into the bowl season guaranteed a winning record and with plenty of momentum to close with a borderline top 25 recruiting class in the 2023 cycle. And this is only the beginning. 

6. Frank Harris is magic: What other explanation makes sense? UTSA’s senior quarterback continues to dig the Roadrunners out of holes and to win close games. They didn’t lead UTEP until the game-winning field goal by Jared Sackett with four seconds left in the game. The Miners jumped out to a 24-0 lead, and it wasn’t a sure thing that Harris would last the entire game after leaving early with an injury. He returned to lead another comeback victory by completing 16 of his 22 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns. UTSA is now 8-1 when the senior throws for more than 300 yards in a game. Jeff Traylor is now 18-6 in one possession games. UTSA is 24-4 since the start of 2021 with a 14-1 record in conference play. 

7. Ragsdale carries North Texas: The Mean Green were on upset alert for most of their Week 13 matchup against Rice. A new hero stepped up in the second half, however, with Ikaika Ragsdale scoring twice down the stretch, including a game-winning six-yard reception from Austin Aune with 10:35 left in the game. Ragsdale, a sophomore from Las Vegas, led the team with 122 yards rushing on 17 carries and with five receptions for 59 yards. 

8. Rice finds its future quarterback: AJ Padgett became the Owls’ 13th different starting quarterback in the Week 13 loss to North Texas – that is the most in the FBS. The true freshman from Frisco Reedy was the bright spot of the 21-17 defeat. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown to one interception. He also ran for 26 yards on 14 carries. Padgett looked like the type of quarterback to build an offense around if Mike Bloomgren and his staff get another year following a five-win season. The loss by UTEP to UTSA could mean Rice ends up in a bowl game. Bloomgreen is 16-38 in five seasons in charge, but the Owls have improved their win total in each of the last two seasons. 

9. Writing on wall in San Marcos: The home loss to Louisiana was likely the final act of Jake Spavital’s tenure as head coach at Texas State. The Bobcats finished 4-8 on the season despite the fielding the best G5 scoring defense in Texas. The former offensive coordinator simply couldn’t find the quarterback play necessary to win consistently. That was evident again in the Week 13 defeat. It feels like a matter of when, not if, news breaks out of San Marcos that Spavital won’t be retained for the 2023 season. Names to watch include Eric Morris, G.J. Kinne, and K.C. Keeler. 

10. Rashee Rice is an All-American: The senior wide receiver became SMU’s record holder for most receiving yards in a season after a 13-catch, 147-yard performance that included a touchdown in the 34-31 win over Memphis. SMU ends the regular season 7-5 overall and 5-3 in AAC play under first-year head coach Rhett Lashlee. Rice was the star throughout the year. He’ll earn All-Texas honors, All-AAC honors, and hopefully, All-American honors for his efforts. SMU is quietly WRU at the G5 level and Rice will become the next Mustang to be drafted into the NFL.