Each of the state's 13 FBS programs are at least halfway through the season. With that in mind, the Dave Campbell's Texas Football college staff logged new predictions for each conference race and for a pair of superlative awards. 

BIG 12 CHAMPION

Texas – The Longhorns turned the ball over three times – four if you count Oklahoma’s goal line stand – and still led with a minute to go at the State Fair. Beating a good team twice is hard, and that’s the Sooners’ challenge if both meet again in Arlington. I’m not sure Dillon Gabriel can do THAT again. (Craven)

Texas – Texas and Oklahoma are the two best teams in a chaotic Big 12. The last time the pair met in the Big 12 Championship Game was 2018, when Oklahoma avenged their 48-45 loss in the Red River Rivalry. I think both teams win out, meet in Arlington and this time Texas gets revenge. (Yates)

Oklahoma – We saw the two best teams in the Big 12 square off in Red River. I was high on Oklahoma's defensive front but still somehow underestimated how dominant they'd be versus Texas. I saw way too many match-ups go in favor of the Sooners for me to change my mind on a rematch in a month or so. (Ishmael)

Summer magazine prediction: Texas Longhorns 

SEC CHAMPION

Georgia – The only true threat is Alabama, and the inconsistency of the Crimson Tide offense gives me pause. Not that the Bulldogs are lighting up the scoreboard, especially with Brock Bowers out. I’ll go chalk with Georgia in a down year for the SEC. (Craven) 

LSU – Brock Bowers's injury rattles my previously optimistic outlook that Georgia would wake from a back-to-back championship stupor. Alabama's offense is too inconsistent to win the conference, and I think Nick Saban knows it. How about LSU rising back from two early season losses off the back of quarterback Jayden Daniels to shock the SEC? The defense is atrocious right now, but I feel Brian Kelly will somehow fix it. (Yates)

Georgia – No Brock Bowers will hurt but Georgia may be dominant enough in the run game to be boring and early-Saban-esque in how they win. Carson Beck hasn't been tested yet but we could just be seeing a Georgia team that doesn't need to leave third gear to win the conference. (Ishmael)

Summer magazine prediction: Georgia Bulldogs 

AAC CHAMPION

Tulane – The SMU offense and the UTSA defense have too many question marks, so I’m headed out of state and picking what I think is the most complete team on paper – defending champion Tulane. Health might decide this one in the end.  (Craven)

Tulane – The Green Wave's statement victory over Memphis proved to me they're the top dogs in the AAC. SMU looks herky jerky on the offensive end, and UTSA has too many health issues (see wide receiver JT Clark, quarterback Frank Harris) to topple them. (Yates)

SMU – Tulane seems to be rounding into gear but SMU's still put up a Top 40 offense in SP+ without really having to flex itself muscles yet. Is that by design or a lack of top-end talent? We'll have an answer by the end of the year but I have faith that SMU is just calmly waltzing through its AAC schedule. (Ishmael)

Summer magazine prediction: UTSA Roadrunners 

SUN BELT CHAMPION

Troy – With James Madison not eligible to win the conference championship (dumb rule), the preseason favorite remains the favorite. I’ll take Troy. (Craven) 

Troy – Trust me, I want to pick Texas State, but the Bobcats have shown too many cracks in the past two weeks. Troy's defense has given up 10 points in the last three weeks combined, and the running back tandem of Kimani Vidal and Damien Taylor is lethal. (Yates)

Troy – The West will be settled on the field in Texas State's next game but the Trojans look back to the conference-winning Neal Brown/Larry Blakeney days of old. (Ishmael)

Summer magazine prediction: Troy Trojans 

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPION

Liberty – The Oct. 24 game between Liberty and Western Kentucky should decide the CUSA champion. Even though it is a road game, I’ll take Liberty and former Texan Kaidon Salter at quarterback. (Craven)

Western Kentucky – Maybe I'm blinded by how fun it is to watch quarterback Austin Reed sling it to Malachi Corley, but I'm going to take the Hilltoppers in that pivotal Oct. 24 matchup and for the conference crown. (Yates)

Liberty - Usually I try not to overthink the best head coach/quarterback combination and that's been Jamey Chadwell and Kaidon Salter this season in Conference-USA. (Ishmael)

Summer magazine prediction: WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS 

WHO IS THE SECOND BEST TEAM IN TEXAS AFTER THE LONGHORNS? 

TCU – Texas State and SMU might have a better shot to win their respective conference, but the Horned Frogs are the second-best team in Texas, especially if quarterback Josh Hoover is as good as his Week 7 start suggests. (Craven)

Texas State – TCU is finding ways to lose football games, Texas State is finding different ways to win them. GJ Kinne struck gold in the transfer portal this offseason and has somehow weathered injuries to three captains to reach five wins for the first time since 2014. (Yates)

TCU – I wanted to put SMU here ... but then rememebred TCU beat them. Now if the Horned Frogs' offense goes back to being stop-start now that teams have film on Josh Hoover, we may revisit but if he's able to pilot the offense like this, TCU is back in the darkhorse-conference-contender lane. (Ishmael)

ALL-TEXAS OFFENSIVE MVP

Quinn Ewers – Running back Jonathon Brooks and a solid defense led the Longhorns to a 5-1 mark. It’ll need Ewers to lead them to a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth. I think he will. (Craven)

Jonathon Brooks – Ewers has two dynamic wide recievers and a game-breaking tight end to bank on. Jonathon Brooks has gone from second-team back behind a freshman to Bijan Robinson's heir apparent. And he's going to need to keep producing even with a hobbled center Jake Majors and guard Cole Hutson. (Yates)

JT Daniels - Rice's run game is abysmal and its defense is non-existent. If the Owls go to a bowl, it'll almost exclusively be on the backs of their graduate transfer quarterback, who's having statistically his best season as a college player. (Ishmael)

ALL-TEXAS DEFENSIVE MVP 

Edgerrin Cooper – If he’s healthy after the open week, the Aggie linebacker is playing on a different level. He’s the highest-graded Power Five defender in the country, per PFF when snap minimums are in place. He leads Texas A&M in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. (Craven)

Trey Moore – If UTSA is to win the AAC, it'll be because the defense vastly improved in the backhalf of the season. Moore, at outside linebacker, is the heart and soul of the unit with 7.5 sacks despite battling injury. (Yates)

Edgerrin Cooper – Texas A&M's defense has looked the best it has since Mike Elko was defensive coordinator and a big part of that is due to Cooper's surge as a playmaker. If his injury vs Tennessee isn't severe, he should continue his massive breakout season.  (Ishmael)