Here is a recap of everything that happened in Week 11 of the Texas college football season after a lighter week of action. Only seven of the 13 FBS programs in the Lone Star State were in action, finishing 4-3 over the weekend. The combined record for FBS programs in Texas is now 70-51 and 11 of the 13 schools are still in bowl contention with three weeks left in the season.

1. Texas dominates Florida 

There won’t be many days that are easier as an SEC program than Week 11 was against a wounded Florida squad. Billy Napier is lucky he was given a vote of confidence earlier in the week or his status as head coach in Gainesville would’ve been the only talking point. Instead, the focus is on a Horns squad that built a 42-0 lead with 12:52 left in the 3rd quarter. Instead of pouring it on, Sarkisian played it safe and allowed backups, including Arch Manning, ample snaps. 

That’s good news for a Texas team that expects to play 16 or 17 games in 2024. If the Horns play in the SEC Championship game, lose, and then make it to the finals of the College Football Playoffs, there are still eight games ahead. That’s a lifetime. The more the starters can rest, the better this team will be in January. More than ever, college football is a battle of attrition. The deepest team will win. And it is much easier to flex that depth when your roster is healthy and rested. 

2. Texas Tech not built for the big time…yet 

The Red Raiders had a chance to crawl back into Big 12 contention at home against Colorado and even built a 13-0 lead early against the Buffs before fading in a 14-point loss. Sure, the officials didn’t help and the roughing the passer penalty was a game-changer, but Texas Tech wasn’t exactly dominating before that penalty. Colorado had taken control of the game, mostly because the Red Raiders couldn’t run the ball early. They ended the first half with 22 carries for 32 yards. 

That put all the pressure on Behren Morton and the passing attack. He’s a quarterback the Red Raiders can win with, but he hasn’t yet proven to be the type of quarterback a team wins because of. That type of QB was on the other sideline in Sheduer Sanders. It wasn’t just Morton. He didn’t have much of a chance with the offensive line allowing six sacks. That’s also a function of not running the football because the Buffs could pin their ears back and hunt. 

3. Offense costs North Texas in dogfight against Army 

The Mean Green didn’t score a touchdown in a 14-3 home loss to Army. It was the first time an Eric Morris coached team hasn’t scored a TD since he was the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech seven years ago. It was the lowest scoring game for North Texas since being shut out by Florida in 2016. The North Texas defense gets all the hate, but it was the offense that kept the Mean Green from pulling the upset. 

Army doesn’t give opponents many chances to score. The Black Knights’ ball control offense only allowed North Texas six possessions. The Mean Green reached the red zone in four of those six drives, but only came away with three points. The first trip resulted in a field goal. The next three were a turnover on downs and two interceptions. Army ran 68 plays to North Texas’s 55. 

4. Bobcats beat a team with winning record on road 

G.J. Kinne was 3-5 overall and 2-4 in conference in true away games as the head coach of the Texas State Bobcats. The two Sun Belt wins entering the Week 11 trip to Louisiana-Monroe were against a 3-9 Southern Miss team in 2023 and Troy squad that is currently 2-7 in 2024. The other road win was the 2023 opener at Baylor. The three teams Kinne’s Kats had knocked off on the road before Saturday were a combined 8-25. 

ULM was 5-3 ahead of the clash with Texas State on Saturday. But the Bobcats left no doubt early, building a 21-0 lead before quarterback Jordan McCloud exited the game with an injury. It was true freshman Brad Jackson who replaced him. Jackson, a San Antonio Reagan product, led the Bobcats with 126 rushing yards and two scores on 17 attempts. He also completed 4-of-9 passes for 16 yards. 

5. Red zone dooms Rice 

The Owls were two yards from taking a third-quarter lead on the road against Memphis before the Owls fumbled an exchange between quarterback E.J. Warner and running back Dean Connors. It was a continuation of red zone issues from the first half. The Owls scored six points in its first three red zone trips, kicking two early field goals and then fumbling in the third quarter. Rice is now 3-7 with UAB and South Florida left on the schedule. 

6. Speaking of Rice football…

Rice fired former head football coach Mike Bloomgren two weeks ago following a Week 9 loss to UConn. Bloomgren ended his seven-year tenure on South Main with a 24-52 record and two bowl trips – both losses. The closest the Owls came to a winning record during that time was a 6-7 finish in 2023. He was 2-6 before parting ways. 

The head coaching search remains pretty quiet in Houston. Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland arrived from Vanderbilt in August of 2023. He’s known as a fundraiser, dating back to his days at Louisiana Tech. Connections at those two schools could dictate the coaching search. One name that continues to get mentioned is Skip Holtz, who was the head coach at La Tech while McClelland was leading the Bulldogs as Director of Athletics. Holtz was 64-50 at La Tech with four seasons of eight or more wins. 

Other names that continue to be mentioned are current assistant Jon Kay, current Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler, and current Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck. Experience could be a key requirement for the next coach, according to sources. That could make a name like Todd Graham a possibility. 

If the Owls go for the young, offensive-minded route that North Texas (Eric Morris), UTEP (Scotty Walden), and Texas State (G.J. Kinne) went, lookout for Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley, UIW head coach Chris Killough, or SMU OC Casey Woods.

7. A culture win for UTEP 

The Miners could’ve folded up shop and quit on the 2023 season. They lost the first six games of the Scotty Walden era, including an overtime game against FCS Southern Utah at home in Week 2. The win over FIU on Oct. 16 was followed by two one-possession losses with starting quarterback Skyler Locklear knocked out against La Tech and then missing against Middle Tennessee a week later as he recovered. 

Locklear was 28-of-33 for 327 yards and four touchdowns in the overtime win over Kennesaw State in Week 11. Trey Goodman and Kenny Odom, who had three receiving touchdowns on his own, combined for 20 catches for 258 yards. Kennesaw tied the game at 28 with 2:43 left in the game and then took the lead in the first overtime period. UTEP tied it up with Odom’s second TD catch in the first overtime period and then won it thanks to his third. The defense held up and UTEP won its second game of the Walden era. 

8. SMU wins without playing 

Want to know how good the Ponies are living right now? They won in Week 11 while sitting at home. That’s because Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech means there is only one team in the ACC without a conference loss and that’s the Mustangs. SMU is three games away from a berth into the ACC championship game (and an iconic trip to Cookout). The three teams left on the regular season schedule – Boston College, Virginia, and Cal – are all currently 5-4.  

9. TCU shows growth by dominating Oklahoma State 

The Horned Frogs have built a reputation of playing down to their competition since the 2022 season. TCU was a double-digit favorite at home against a struggling Big 12 team in Oklahoma State, but that didn’t necessarily equate to a low-stress night in Fort Worth. Remember the Houston game? Well, so did the Frogs. They jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead over the Pokes and never looked back. Savion Williams always looked like Tarzan, and now he’s playing like him on a weekly basis.  

10. An historic season in Texas…maybe 

The only two teams eliminated from bowl contention with three weeks left in the regular season are UTEP and Rice. Technically, the Owls could still finish 5-7 and a strong APR could earn them an invite if there aren’t enough 6-win teams left. Six teams – Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, Sam Houston, TCU, and Texas Tech – are already bowl eligible with six wins. North Texas, Baylor, and Texas State are one win away with three to go. UTSA and Houston sit at four wins.