TEXAS, USA — It's Week 8 of the college football season and we have so much football on all the time I think it's a bit overwhelming – in the best way.
The majority of our Texas teams had last weekend off, so there wasn't a ton of change to our latest rankings, but still some movement to note.
Three members of WFAA's digital team: Ryan Osborne, Paul Livengood and Zachary Yanes, put their heads together to rank each of the FBS programs in Texas ahead of Week 8.
WFAA's Texas Football Rankings for Week 8:
No. 1 Texas Longhorns (6-0)
Ryan Osborne: The Longhorns embarrassed Oklahoma for the second time in three years. And they were dominant on both sides of the ball. Quinn Ewers, who seems to get a lot of flack for a guy who consistently wins, has returned Texas to elite status and beat that team north of the Red handily. Now comes Georgia.
- Paul Livengood - 1
- Ryan Osborne - 1
- Zach Yanes - 1
No. 2 SMU Mustangs (5-1)
Zachary Yanes: The Mustangs got a much-deserved bye week after two weeks of dominant performances against ACC opponents. Next, SMU will travel to Palo Alto for its next road test against Stanford.
- Paul Livengood - 3
- Ryan Osborne - 2
- Zach Yanes - 2
No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (5-1)
Ryan Osborne: The Aggies also won the bye, and had time to dream about a potential SEC championship game matchup against Texas. It could happen.
- Paul Livengood - 2
- Ryan Osborne - 3
- Zach Yanes - 3
No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-1)
Ryan Osborne: The Red Raiders will dismantle Baylor on Saturday. Mark my words. The Joey McGuire Bowl aka the BU-TT Bowl, will be a landslide.
- Paul Livengood - 4
- Ryan Osborne - 4
- Zach Yanes - 4
T-No. 5 Sam Houston Bearkats (5-2)
Paul Livengood: The Bearkats met their maker in their conference play, falling to Western Kentucky. They kept it close until the Hilltoppers took over in the fourth quarter. Texas State has yet to play their game this week, but the head-to-head win (and similar record) keeps them over the Bobcats in my rankings – for now.
- Paul Livengood - 5
- Ryan Osborne - 6
- Zach Yanes - 6
T-No. 5 North Texas Mean Green (5-1)
Ryan Osborne: UNT got a big road win over Florida Atlantic to keep the offensive machine rolling.
- Paul Livengood - 7
- Ryan Osborne - 5
- Zach Yanes - 5
No. 7 Texas State Bobcats (4-2)
Paul Livengood: The Bobcats dominated another conference opponent. It's unfortunate that they lost their two games by a combined 4 points to teams with a combined 10-2 record. We should be 5-0 with the CFP and a conference title shot in the crosshairs, but the latter is still in sight. A Sun Belt title is still very much in play with their 2-0 conference record. Texas State hits the road again to face Old Dominion (2-4, 1-1) next.
- Paul Livengood - 6
- Ryan Osborne - 7
- Zach Yanes - 7
No. 8 Houston Cougars (2-4)
Zachary Yanes: Look, Houston is not a good football team – and I have no idea how they were able to beat TCU the other week. But, I got a weird feeling about them and think they might start to piece together some wins here. We shall see!
- Paul Livengood - 8
- Ryan Osborne - 8
- Zach Yanes - 8
No. 9 Baylor Bears (2-4)
Paul Livengood: Big one in Lubbock for the Bears. I don't expect them to outscore the Red Raiders, but that's why they play the game, right?
- Paul Livengood - 10
- Ryan Osborne - 9
- Zach Yanes - 9
No. 10 TCU Horned Frogs (3-3)
Ryan Osborne: The Frogs probably didn't get much better on the bye. In fact, they probably got worse. This program stinks right now. Fortunately, TCU fans get a 9:30 pm kickoff for the Utah game Saturday night. Drink some coffee, then plan for a quick switch to alcohol. The Utes will roll.
- Paul Livengood - 9
- Ryan Osborne - 10
- Zach Yanes - 10
No. 11 Rice Owls (2-4)
Paul Livengood: Rice and UTSA might have been the most exciting game among bad teams in college football last week. The Owls capped off their win with seconds left on the game clock.
- Paul Livengood - 11
- Ryan Osborne - 11
- Zach Yanes - 11
No. 12 UTSA Roadrunners (2-4)
Zachary Yanes: It's just a routine at this point for me to get on here and tarnish my Roadrunners -- and that's what I'm going to keep doing. I'm not necessarily disappointed anymore at the lack of effort shown on film each week, it's more that I have just learned that UTSA simply doesn't have the guys to do anything meaningful this year. Defense continues to be a disaster and offensive playcalling is quite honestly atrocious. Looking ahead, there are realistically at least three more losses on the Roadrunners' schedule coming up, so staying healthy is my only concern.
- Paul Livengood - 12
- Ryan Osborne - 12
- Zach Yanes - 12
No. 13 UTEP Miners (1-6)
Zachary Yanes: The Miners were able to stumble into their first win of the season against FIU Wednesday night. The post-game interview with the head coach was easily one of the best so far this year – you would've thought these guys just won the Super Bowl. Good for you, Miners – hopefully this momentum can carry on.
- Paul Livengood - 13
- Ryan Osborne - 13
- Zach Yanes - 13