Nine of the state’s 13 FBS programs are in action during an important Week 12 slate. Texas renews its rivalry with Arkansas three years removed from an embarrassing loss in Fayetteville. North Texas and UTSA resume arguably the most meaningful G5 rivalry in the Lone Star State. SMU is in ACC championship or bust mode after the latest College Football Playoff rankings. 

The four teams idle this week are TCU, Texas Tech, Rice, and UTEP. But we never take a week off at DCTF. Here are my five questions for the weekend. 

1. Does SMU need style points? 

The Mustangs weren’t included in the College Football Playoff bracket for the second consecutive week when they landed at 13th – one spot out of the 12-team field. The good news for SMU is that the route into the playoff – and probably a bye into the quarterfinals as the ACC champ – is simple: Just win, baby. 

Even the television suits can’t deny the Ponies if they win the final three games – starting with Boston College on Saturday – and then knock off Miami in the ACC title game. Style points could help their at-large argument if SMU loses in the ACC title game, but there might not be room with the committee dead set on including four teams from the SEC, four teams from the Big Ten, and Notre Dame. That only leaves three spots and those are guaranteed to the Big 12 champ, ACC champ, and G5 representative. 

2. Can Texas avenge the embarrassing 2021 loss at Arkansas? 

The Longhorns were dismantled in Fayetteville back in 2021 – Steve Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres. Arkansas manhandled Texas in a 40-21 route that ended with the crowd rushing the field and the nation wondering if the Horns would be ready for SEC competition by the time it joined the super league in 2024. That loss didn’t derail Sark’s vision for this program, it only crystalized it. 

That blowout loss on the road proved a long whispered about issue for the Texas football program: It was soft. The team that rode into Fayetteville in 2021 wasn’t ready for a dog fight. Hell, they weren’t ready for a grape fight. The Longhorns were bullied, embarrassed, and sent away without supper. Since then, Sark & Co. assembled a roster with big humans, tough football players, and proven winners. We’ll see if that’s enough to exorcise some demons on the road. 

3. Is North Texas-UTSA the best G5 rivalry in Texas? 

With apologies to Texas State vs. UTSA and Texas State vs. Sam Houston, the Battle of the Birds between the Mean Green and the Roadrunners stands alone as the best G5 rivalry in Texas. It might be Top 5 regardless of division. That’s how much these two schools dislike each other. Don’t believe me? Fire up Twitter. They’ll meet for the 13th time since 2013 on Friday night with UTSA leading the series 7-5. Expect a lot of points. 

4. Will Baylor get bowl eligible? 

The Bears walked out of Ames, Iowa, 2-4 and left for dead following a 43-21 loss at Iowa State. It was Baylor’s fourth loss to a Big 12 program in 2024 and it wasn’t even mid-October. The columns and podcasts weren’t focused on bowl games or winning seasons, the noise was about who the next head coach at Baylor would be. 

And then something interesting happened, the Bears went on a run. Baylor throttled Texas Tech in Lubbock, 59-35, and followed that up with a 10-point win over Oklahoma State. The winning streak became three in a three-point win over TCU on Nov. 2. Suddenly, Aranda & Co. are one win away from bowl eligibility, and a likely return to Waco for the 2025 season. The first shot comes at West Virginia on Saturday afternoon.  

5. How good is Houston? 

The team that lost 27-7 at home in Week 1 to UNLV no longer exists. Houston’s new form is one of a pesky upstart after winning three of its last four, including victories at TCU and against Kansas State. Few doubted if Willie Fritz could work his magic in the Third Ward, but no one outside that locker room believed it could happen in Year 1. Houston can become bowl eligible by winning two of its last three and its recruiting class in 2025 is one of the best in the Big 12. A win late Friday night against Arizona puts the Coogs at 5-5 and Fritz in Big 12 Coach of the Year contention.