Four Texas-based FBS teams had byes, making for a less action-packed weekend in the Lone Star State. The games that were played, however, were electric, consisting of four wild upsets and some new faces in the AP poll. Here’s the recap for week six of the Texas college football landscape.

Baylor Bears (2-4)
Iowa State def. Baylor 43-21

Baylor lost their third straight game, falling to the #16 Iowa State Cyclones on the road. The Bears only rushed for 79 total yards, but quarterback Sawyer Robertson passed for three touchdowns and 258 yards. His top targets were Ketron Jackson Jr. (5 REC, 66 YDS, TD) and Michael Trigg (6 REC, 61 YDS, TD). Linebacker Garmon Randolph had the lone interception for the Bears. After forcing a turnover on downs on the first drive of the game, Baylor marched 84 yards on nine plays to draw first blood.

Iowa State followed Baylor’s seven with three of their own, a 45-yarder from kicker Kyle Konrardy. At the start of the second quarter, Robertson extended Baylor’s lead on his eight-yard touchdown pass to Trigg. This touchdown was also followed by a Konrardy field goal. A Benjamin Brahmer touchdown made it 12-14 for the Cyclones, and Iowa State took their first lead of the game not long after thanks to a blocked punt, which redshirt sophomore Caden Matson managed to return. The half ended with a 19-14 Iowa State advantage.

Baylor fought back to open the second half, as Robertson converted a fourth-and-three for a 25-yard touchdown pass and the lead. Unfortunately, it only took Iowa State two drives to rebuild their lead to a tally of 33-21. Iowa State running back Jaylon Jackson (15 ATT, 107 YDS) netted his second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Konrardy drilled a third field goal to put the game away. Baylor, who has had the misfortune of playing three ranked teams early, does not face a much easier path ahead with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State on the horizon. First, however, the Bears will have the week off before traveling to Lubbock on October 19.

Houston Cougars (1-4)
Houston def. TCU 31-19. See TCU below

North Texas Mean Green (4-1)
IDLE WEEK

North Texas, sporting a 4-1 record and a 1-0 record in the AAC, will face Florida Atlantic University (2-3) in week seven. Quarterback Chandler Morris ranks eighth in the country in passing yards. The team is on a two-game winning streak, and in their four wins, they are averaging over 45 points a game.

Rice Owls (1-4)
IDLE WEEK

Rice received a rest after losing three straight games. At 1-4, the Owls are at risk of losing bowl eligibility a season after playing Texas State in the First Responder Bowl. The Owls will have a chance to improve their fate in a home game against the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday.

Sam Houston Bearkats (5-1)
Sam Houston def. UTEP 41-21. See UTEP below

SMU Mustangs (5-1)
SMU def. Louisville 34-27

SMU broke into the top-25 following their road win against #22 Louisville. Kevin Jennings had yet another outstanding performance for SMU, completing 21 of 27 passes with zero interceptions while also adding a score and 113 yards on the ground. RJ Maryland led the team in receiving yards with 83, while Roderick Daniels Jr. and LJ Johnson Jr. both found the endzone through the run game.

After a nearly flawless eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by SMU, Louisville responded with an equally impressive five-play, 65-yard scoring drive. On the Mustangs' next possession, Jennings left the field briefly after a rough tackle, and backup Preston Stone capitalized by going one-for-one with a touchdown pass. Louisville kicked a 46-yarder to make their deficit only 14-10.

In the second, Jennings tore away for a 59-yard rushing touchdown, torching the Cardinals for a 21-10 lead. The only scoring for the remainder of the half was a field goal apiece for both teams. Donald Chaney Jr. of Louisville broke the plane in their opening drive of the second half, while the Mustangs could only scrounge up a field goal. With their lead slimmed to seven, the Mustangs did the unthinkable by allowing an 86-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Shough to Ja’Corey Brooks, tying the game.

After the misplay, the Mustang defense bared down, forcing a turnover on downs and a punt. The offense woke back up, battling for 89 yards to regain the lead on Johnson’s touchdown run. The Cardinals got the ball with six minutes to spare and led a mighty drive to the red zone. A sack and a few ineffective plays forced Shough and the Louisville offense into a fourth-and-seventeen. With one final heave, Shough sealed the Cardinals' fate, tossing the ball into the arms of linebacker Isaiah Nwokobia. SMU ran out the clock, moving up to 25th in the country and solidifying their contention for an ACC title game spot. SMU plays Stanford after a bye.

TCU Horned Frogs (3-3)
Houston def. TCU 31-19

TCU surrendered 31 points to a Houston team that had been held scoreless in two straight matches en route to a brutal home upset. Houston made a switch at quarterback to Zeon Chriss, who dashed for 97 yards and a touchdown on top of a 15-18, 141-yard passing performance. For the Horned Frogs, Josh Hoover was 23 for 37 for 233 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. His main target, Jack Bech, was limited to four receptions and 55 yards, though he did score a touchdown. JP Richardson compiled the most catches for TCU with nine for 98 yards.

Houston didn’t have a receiver with over 40 receiving yards but utilized nine different pass catchers throughout the game. It was Coog dominance through the first 25 minutes; sophomore Devan Williams got an eight-yard touchdown reception, running back Re’Shaun Sanford II scored from the one, and kicker Jack Martin scored a 34-yard field goal for a 17-0 Houston lead. After two straight interceptions, Hoover was eventually able to end the shutout with a passing touchdown but was silenced again when Chriss bolted 71 yards to give the Cougars yet another score before the half. TCU, down 24-7, opened the second half scoring on a two-yard run from Jeremy Payne, but after receiver JP Richardson fumbled on their next drive, Houston was in perfect range for Martin’s second field goal of the day. Bech got his touchdown before Martin hit a third field goal, but when Hoover fumbled on a sack by Zykeius Strong, TCU ran out of room to rally.

Houston, with a well-deserved break, will return in week eight to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Perhaps less deserved, TCU will also have a bye before facing back-to-back unforgiving opponents in Utah and Texas Tech.

Texas Longhorns (5-0)
IDLE WEEK

The Longhorns returned to the number one spot in the polls without playing a game. Thanks to Alabama’s shocking loss to Vanderbilt, the Longhorns were voted the best team in the country going into their massive matchup against Oklahoma in week seven. The 5-0 Longhorns will be getting starting quarterback Quinn Ewers back from injury and have decided to start Ewers over Arch Manning, who has played impressively in Ewers’ absence.

Texas A&M Aggies (5-1)
Texas A&M def. Mizzou 41-10

Texas A&M had their most impressive win of the season at home, taking down #9 Mizzou 41-10. It was the Aggies' largest margin of victory against a top-ten opponent. Connor Weigman made his return from injury, completing 81% of his passes for 276 yards. Texas A&M’s bell cow Le’Veon Moss torched the Tigers for 138 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. Junior Amari Daniels had two rushing scores as well.

The Aggie defense wreaked havoc on Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook and the Tigers' run game; they got in the backfield for six sacks and limited the run offense to 68 yards and 2.3 yards per carry. In the first half, Texas A&M leaped to a 24-0 advantage on Daniels' two touchdowns, Moss’s first, and a Randy Bond 44-yarder. In Mizzou’s five full first-half drives, they had four punts and a turnover on downs, never getting past the Aggie 40. Moss continued to apply the pressure in the second half by taking the first play of the half 75 yards for a 31-0 lead. Bond got another field goal before Mizzou finally put up points, as Cook lobbed a bomb to Theo Wease on a 59-yard play. At the start of the fourth, Moss racked up his third rushing touchdown. Mizzou drilled a field goal, but A&M’s offensive eruption proved more than enough to ruin Mizzou’s bid at a perfect season. Texas A&M now ranks 15th in the country and can continue to build momentum against harder SEC opponents in an away matchup with 1-4 Mississippi State.

Texas State Bobcats (3-2)
Texas State def. Troy 38-17

Texas State returned from their bye week with a 38-17 victory against the Troy Trojans. The defense compiled six sacks and three forced fumbles, of which two were recovered. Defensive end Steven Parker terrorized the Trojans' backfield, accumulating four tackles for loss, including two sacks, and a forced fumble.

Aside from two interceptions, Jordan McCloud was accurate with the pass, completing 20 of 29 attempts for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 72 yards and an additional six points. Ismail Madhi claimed the first touchdown of the game, running it in on the one-yard line for a 7-0 Texas State lead. McCloud found Jaden Williams not much later to double the Bobcats' score. It took Troy until the second quarter to contribute points, first on a Mojo Dortch receiving touchdown and then a Scott Taylor Renfroe field goal. Two more McCloud passing touchdowns, first to Kole Wilson then to Joey Hobert, kept the Bobcats on top 28-10 entering halftime.

In the third quarter, Texas State kicker Mason Shipley drilled his lone field goal for 53 yards. McCloud galloped into the end zone from the Troy 42 to put the Bobcats ahead by four touchdowns. Though the Trojans scored one last touchdown in the third, a scoreless fourth ensured victory for Texas State. With their record lifted to 3-2, the Bobcats will move on to face the 2-3 Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-1)
Texas Tech def. Arizona 28-22

Texas Tech took down Arizona 28-22, forcing three turnovers and two sacks to limit the Wildcats to a single touchdown. The Red Raider offense ran through Tahj Brooks, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry on his way to three rushing touchdowns and 128 ground yards. Brooks ranks fourth in the nation with 679 total rushing yards. Behren Morton passed 29 times, completing 17 for 214 yards. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita bested Morton in yardage but also threw two costly interceptions. The top pass-catchers for either team were Red Raiders receiver Caleb Douglas (5 REC, 116 YDS) and Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan (8 REC, 161 YDS).

Brooks got his first two scores in the first half, rushing for three and nine yards. Thanks to a two-point conversion on the latter, Texas Tech had 15 points to Arizona’s three in the closing minutes of the half. Gino Garcia lifted that lead to 18-3 with a 30-yarder as the clock ran out.

Arizona kicker Tyler Loop’s lone first-half field goal was the first of five in the matchup. He got back-to-back kicks of 40 and 30 yards in the third quarter, and the Wildcats actually took a lead on a Quali Conley rushing touchdown and another Loop field goal at the start of the fourth. After a scoreless third frame in which the Red Raiders fumbled twice, and zero points in the first 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, Tech made a late comeback. Garcia booted a go-ahead kick from 37 yards, then forced a fumble to set up Brooks' penultimate touchdown run. Loop got the last lick, kicking a 52-yarder, but an unsuccessful onside kick meant the Red Raiders had sealed their third conference victory. Texas Tech doesn’t play again until their matchup against the Baylor Bears in week eight.

UTEP Miners (0-5)
Sam Houston def. UTEP 41-21

Sam Houston earned their fifth win while handing UTEP their fifth loss of the 2024 season. The Bearkats ran for 293 yards, led by DJ McKinney (14 ATT, 138 YDS, 2 TD), Jay Ducker (9 ATT, 70 YDS, TD), and quarterback Hunter Watson (14 ATT, 32 YDS). Watson also had 224 passing yards and two air scores.

Cade McConnell was 15 of 28 for 208 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for UTEP. Receiver Trey Goodman also threw a pick on an attempted trick play. Ezell Jolly was the leading Miners rusher, going for 76 yards and a touchdown. The only score by either squad was a 39-yard rushing touchdown from Ducker on the first drive of the half.

After Bearkats defensive back Caleb Weaver picked off McConnell in the opening quarter, the two teams had what could only be described as a punt-off, each punting four times in a row before McKinney at long last darted into the end zone from 23 yards out. UTEP punted again but was bailed out by Watson fumbling on the Bearkats’ own one-yard line. UTEP spur Kory Chapman scooped up the ball for a quick seven points.

Sam Houston collected a field goal before the half and entered halftime up 17-7. They extended the lead on the first drive of the third quarter, as Qua’Vez Humphreys caught a ball on the UTEP 20 and ran it the rest of the way for a touchdown. UTEP’s first fumble of the half gave Sam Houston the ball back and allowed for Watson’s second touchdown strike. The Bearkats scored once more in the third not long after when McKinney broke away for a 59-yard run. Down 38-7, the Miners gained some ground with touchdowns from Marcus Vinson and Jolly. Sam Houston took a field goal with two minutes to go and on Pavon’s successful kick rode away to a 41-21 victory.

In only their second season as an FBS program, the Bearkats are a game away from bowl eligibility, and a Wednesday night matchup against Western Kentucky on October 16 will be their first chance at clinching. The Hilltoppers first have a date with UTEP, who play WKU in week seven.

UTSA Roadrunners (2-3)
IDLE WEEK

UTSA got a bye after a loss to East Carolina. They started the 2023 season slowly as well, but gained momentum during conference play. The Roadrunners have a chance to repeat the pattern against the 1-4 Rice Owls on Saturday.