Back to school

By Greg Tepper // TexasFootball.com

So, what did you do this weekend?

If you’re like us, you spent more time in front of the television than you’d like to admit, getting your fill of college football. And with all 10 Texas FBS teams in action, why in the world not?

It was a sensational first week of college football in the Lone Star State, complete with upsets and thrillers and amazing individual performances. So let’s recap each of the 10 FBS teams in Texas’ first week of action, shall we? We’ll go in order of our preseason Power Poll (which, as you have likely surmised, will be changing quite a bit after this week…that’s coming tomorrow morning).

1) Texas A&M
What happened: The Aggies’ offense was more potent than even the biggest A&M fan could have hoped, the defense stymied SMU to the point that its starting quarterback got pulled, and Texas A&M marched to an easy 46-14 win over the Mustangs on Sunday night in College Station.
Star of the week: Um, how about everyone on the offense? QB Ryan Tannehill threw just five incompletions en route to 246 yards and two touchdowns, the RB duo of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael combined for 217 yards and four touchdowns, WR Ryan Swope caught 8 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Maybe the real star of the game is A&M head coach Mike Sherman.
Key number: 6. That’s how many third downs A&M faced in the entire game. It hardly matters that you convert only 16 percent of your third downs when you’re only facing six of them.
What it all means: I understand those that doubted Texas A&M entering 2011 -- this is, after all, a program that has been a perennial underachiever for the better part of the last decade. But in a very loud way on Sunday, the Aggies told the nation that the hype is worth believing. SMU’s defense is hardly the most dominating in the nation, but it’s not lunch meat. I’m going to try to keep from overstating this after just one game (after all, this could all change next week), but consider this: I don’t think there’s a defense on the Aggies’ schedule that can stop this attack. Slow down? Maybe. Stop? Nope. It was that good. And don’t forget the defense, which chased SMU QB Kyle Padron after two interceptions on his first two drives. There are many other votes in our Power Poll, and mine counts only as one, but I think it’s safe to say that the Aggies will be No. 1 for another week. What a performance.

2) TCU
What happened: In one of the most thrilling opening week games in recent memory, TCU’s traditionally stout defense was gashed for half-a-hundred points and an explosive offensive effort by new QB Casey Pachall came up short as TCU’s 25-game regular season winning streak was snapped in a 50-48 loss to Baylor in Waco on Friday night.
Star of the game: QB Casey Pachall completed 25 of 39 passes for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns in his starting debut, adding nine carries for 23 yards and a score. His lone big mistake came with an interception in the waning seconds, which sealed the Baylor win.
Key number: 2,169. No, that’s not how many yards the Horned Frogs defense gave up on Friday night (though it seemed like it at times). That’s how many days it had been since TCU had given up 50 points, in a 51-50 win over BYU on Sept. 24, 2005.
What it all means: Thud. We knew that TCU could be looking at a rebuilding year in 2011, but I’m not sure we knew it included a loss to an unranked team that finished with a winning record last year for the first time since 1995. Baylor took advantage of an inexperienced secondary and rolled up 564 yards. Last year, that’d be unheard of for the Horned Frogs. Robert Griffin and Kendall Wright are great players, and Baylor’s offense should hum this season, but TCU has serious defensive issues to reconcile, and quick. Don’t forget: the Frogs travel to Air Force in just a couple weeks. It’s not time to panic…yet. Gary Patterson got where he is for being a defensive genius, so he‘ll have a say in this. The offense was great, though! Casey Pachall looks like an excellent long-term solution for the Frogs, and the running game was quietly excellent. But as I wrote on Saturday morning, it might be time to reconsider whether we’ve overestimated TCU’s ability to “reload” instead of “rebuild."

3) Houston
What happened: QB Case Keenum didn’t skip a beat in his return to the field, the Coogs got a surprisingly good result from its running game and the defense did juuust enough to hold off UCLA to score a 38-34 win over the Bruins on Saturday afternoon in Houston.
Star of the week: It’s got to be the returning gunslinger, right? Tyron Carrier was great (10 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown), but Keenum gets the crown, completing 30 of 40 passes for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns in his return from ACL surgery.
Key number: 554. That’s how many total yards the Houston defense gave up to UCLA on Saturday afternoon. Last year, in a 31-13 loss to UCLA, Houston allowed just 357 yards to the Bruins.
What it all means: Potentially, everything. Houston’s offense looked downright dominating as Keenum came back and looked like the Heisman candidate he’s been hyped up to be. And of course, we all predicted that Houston would score three rushing touchdowns, right? Bryce Beall ran 11 times for 69 yards and a touchdown; if Houston wants to get where they want, a big year from Beall would go a long way. And where is that? Well, basically, the BCS. You could make an argument that this was, all things considered, one of the two toughest games on Houston’s schedule. The Coogs will be favored in every game from here on out, so it’s feasible that we could be talking about another Texas team busting the BCS this year. The key, as it always is with Houston, is defense. You can’t live winning games 38-34, and giving up over 500 yards. The D must make strides, but if it can improve, the Coogs have a very, very high ceiling.

4) Texas Tech
What happened: The Red Raiders’ evening finished a lot better as it started as Texas Tech rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to FCS team Texas State (and a 10-9 halftime deficit), using a big night from QB Seth Doege to propel the Raiders to 50 unanswered points and a 50-10 win on Saturday night in Lubbock.
Star of the week: Seth Doege will get the ink, but RB Eric Stephens was terrific, running 21 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
Key number: 67.9. That’s the percentage of Seth Doege’s 326 passing yards went to junior WR Darrin Moore (221 yards) and a touchdown.
What it all means: OK, so things didn’t go swimmingly at the start. The Dennis Franchione-led Bobcats came out firing, stunning the Lubbock crowd by taking a 10-9 lead into halftime. But the Raiders woke up, and Seth Doege rounded into form, throwing three touchdown passes. Here’s the weirdest thing: for a team that we felt like was a total mystery entering the season, after one game, they’re still a total mystery. The defense clamped down on the Bobcats, not letting them score in the final 46 minutes and holding them to just 331 total yards (and recovering four fumbles, too). When the offense sputtered, Tommy Tuberville turned to Eric Stephens, who delivered in the form of consistency. Only having the ball for 23 minutes is problematic, but all in all, you take this one and move on. It’s a convincing win over a team you should beat convincingly, even if it didn’t start out that way.

5) Baylor
What happened: In a nationally televised, highly anticipated non-conference battle -- arguably the biggest non-conference game in Waco in the past decade -- Baylor delivered, led by Robert Griffin’s Heisman-caliber night and Kendall Wright’s coming-out party, a stunning, thrilling, hair-raising 50-48 win over No. 14 TCU on Friday night in Waco.
Star of the week: It’s Robert Griffin’s world, and we’re just living in it. The junior quarterback from Copperas Cove threw just one more incompletion (six) than he did touchdown passes (5) for 359 yards while not throwing an interception.
Key number: 26:54. That’s how long Baylor had the ball on Friday night, meaning that A) they lost the much-hyped time of possession battle, and B) it didn’t matter when you’re racking up 564 yards and 50 points on one of the nation’s traditional defensive powers.
What it all means: Has Waco quieted down yet? If not, who could blame them? Baylor -- a program that’s been mired in sub-mediocrity for the better part of the last 15 years -- knocked off a team that won the Rose Bowl just months ago. Baylor! Yes, that Baylor! Robert Griffin was sublime, and while he won’t win the Heisman (because Baylor won’t be in the national title hunt), he deserves to be in the conversation. And Kendall Wright can probably no longer be the most underappreciated player in the Big XII, because the secret is out. And let’s not get away from what was an excellent performance from RB Terrance Ganaway, either; he took his turn pacing the offense. The defense is still in shambles, and that’s got to improve, but why worry about that now? Baylor is the toast of the nation, and you could say it hasn’t been like that in 30 years. Confidence is sky high, and with two more winnable games to follow, expect that  to continue.

6) SMU
What happened: Well, not much good. The defense gave up 458 yards to a powerful Texas A&M offense, and QB Kyle Padron was pulled in favor of backup J.J. McDermott, who performed well but not well enough to save the Ponies from a 46-14 thrashing at the hands of Texas A&M on Sunday night in College Station.
Star of the week: While the passing game was in flux, RB Zach Line carried the load, rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown, offering coach June Jones a much-needed safety net.
Key number: 7.04. That’s how many yards per play the SMU defense allowed on Sunday night. To put that in perspective, SMU’s Conference USA-mate Tulsa allowed just 6.63 yards per play to No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday night in Norman.
What it all means: Well, there’s no two ways around it for Mustangs fans: that stunk. Asking for an upset was probably asking for too much, but SMU looked totally overmatched on Sunday night in almost every phase of the game. And add onto that a potential budding quarterback controversy -- backup QB J.J. McDermott performed pretty well in relief of a must-still-be-reeling Kyle Padron -- and there’s all of a sudden some turmoil on Mockingbird Lane. Texas A&M’s offense is loaded, but the defense has to play better than that if it wants to challenge for a Conference USA crown. If there’s an upside, the Mustangs have three weeks to get up to speed (UTEP, Northwestern State, at Memphis) before its next big test: Oct. 1 at TCU.

7) Texas
What happened: It took a while, but the Longhorns offense finally got revved up, and the defense was consistently excellent as Texas pulled away from Rice for a 34-9 win over the Owls on Saturday night in Austin.
Star of the week: The much-maligned RB Fozzy Whitaker (will never understand why he takes so much criticism) ran for 33 yards and a touchdown while also catching 4 passes for 55 yards and a score to be the most consistent producer for the Longhorns.
Key number: 5. That’s how many more yards of total offense the Texas offense allowed Rice this year (224) than last year (219). Somehow, I think Mack Brown will manage.
What it all means: Rice’s defense does not figure to be very good (ranked 107th in the nation in yards allowed per game last season), but how cathartic was that offensive display for Longhorns fans? 506 total yards, and quite well-balanced, too (277 passing yards, 229 rushing yards). Garrett Gilbert was good-not-great, and both David Ash and Case McCoy logged some snaps in this one. The offensive line didn’t look great -- it took a while to wear down Rice’s front -- and that will be problematic if it doesn’t improve, but all in all, nothing to complain about on offense. And hey! Malcolm Brown carried 16 times for 85 yards! In any case, the story, to me, was the defense, which was once again dominant. Allowing 224 yards total, forcing two turnovers, holding Rice to a combined 2-of-13 in 3rd/4th down conversions? All very good. It’s a long road back for Texas, and the offensive line is still going to be an issue, but this is a nice, measured first step.

8) Rice
What happened: The Owls hung around for a while, but the offense simply didn’t produce enough, and the defense broke down late as Texas took a 34-9 victory over Rice in Austin on Saturday night.
Star of the week: K Chris Boswell was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals, including a 49-yarder and 42-yarder, to account for all nine of the Owls’ points.
Key number: 1.2. That’s how many more yards per attempt the Owls had rushing (4.3 yards per carry) than passing (3.1 yards per pass). That’s, um, not good.
What it all means: Rice was distinct underdogs headed into DKR on Saturday night, and to pull an upset, you usually A) have to play well in all phases of the game, B) catch some breaks and C) make big plays. The Owls did none of these. The offense limped to just 224 total yards, and QB Taylor McHargue was limited to just 79 yards passing despite 29 attempts. The rushing game wasn’t much better. And while the defense did a pretty good job, it eventually wore down; that’s what happens when your offense can’t stay on the field. This doesn’t necessarily change the projection of the Owls season -- most Rice fans counted this as a loss -- but you’d like to see a better process if you’re David Bailiff.

9) UTEP
What happened: Stony Brook -- yes, Stony Brook -- fought UTEP wire-to-wire, but the Miners came back from a 24-10 third quarter deficit and made plays in overtime -- a first-play touchdown strike from QB Nick Lamaison to Donavon Kemp, and a game-winning interception by Travaun Nixon -- to survive with a 31-24 overtime win on Saturday night in El Paso.
Star of the week: Got to be QB Nick Lamaison, right? The junior college transfer threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns in his first game as a Miner. He did throw two interceptions, but made the important throws when he had to.
Key number: 120. That’s how many FBS teams there are in the nation. Stony Brook is not among them.
What it all means: The good news is that the Miners won. That is the end of the good news. C’mon, UTEP…Stony Brook? At home? In overtime? It’s better than a loss, but…really? Now, Nick Lamaison was quite good, and he apparently has a new favorite target in Donavon Kemp (4 catches, 114 yards, game-winning TD), but Stony Brook actually out-gained UTEP, 410 to 401 yards. A big place for improvement? Running the ball. UTEP averaged a paltry 1.6 yards per carry on its 23 carries. RB Joe Banyard, despite running for a touchdown, was pretty much a non-factor. And the defense got run over to the tune of 231 yards. Again, this would be acceptable against even a mediocre FBS team, but it’s Stony Brook. It’s the de facto 37th-ranked team in the FCS. Stony Brook finished 6-5 in the Big South last year. Survive and advance, but coach Mike Price has some big time fixin’ to do.

10) North Texas
What happened: Florida International jumped out to a 28-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back, as North Texas couldn’t get anything going on offense -- all of its points came on defense -- in a 41-16 Florida International win over the Mean Green on Thursday night in Miami.
Star of the week: Defensive back Ryan Downing notched five tackles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in a game that lacked a lot of good things to write about for North Texas.
Key number: 4. That’s how many yards per touch running back Lance Dunbar managed on Thursday night -- two catches for 37 yards, and 18 carries for 43 yards. Take out a 30-yard reception for Dunbar, and that number drops to 2.6 yards per touch.
What it all means: Yuck. This is not exactly the start to the Dan McCarney era that coach Dan McCarney was looking for. The offense was anemic. Don’t let the 307 total yards fool you; the Mean Green had just 107 total yards at halftime, which they entered trailing 31-7. And the defense wasn’t much better, as the Panthers, led by an historic night by T.Y. Hilton, scored on each of its first four possessions. Where does the Mean Green go from here? Hopefully up, as it can’t get a whole lot worse than this. Some offensive points would sure be nice, and Lance Dunbar being the team’s best overall player is probably not a bad place to start.