A season of disappointment in the Texas college ranks leaves Houston with best chance to take the state crown

[caption id="attachment_20646" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Diana Porter Photo by Diana Porter[/caption] The season of disappointment for Texas colleges continued over the weekend when Oklahoma came into Waco and wiped away the undefeated mark next to the Bears’ case to make the College Football Playoff. It was the second week in a row that an undefeated Big 12 team from Texas fell from the list of unbeaten teams. TCU lost the week before to Oklahoma State. Both Baylor and TCU entered the season with national championship hopes. The game between the two was expected by most to determine the Big 12 Championship and which team got the nod into the College Football Playoff. Now, the game lingers in an uncomfortable air because injuries and disappointment surround both programs. It is possible both teams will be without their starting quarterback. Baylor already lost Seth Russell to a season-ending injury. The Horned Frogs finished off a helpless Kansas team without the aid of Heisman candidate Trevone Boykin. A few weeks ago, Texas was home to two undefeated teams in the hunt for a national championship, a ranked Texas A&M program, a Texas Longhorn team rebounding from early season woes with a win over Oklahoma and the undefeated Houston Cougars. As we sit here in mid-November, Baylor and TCU were upset, Texas and Texas A&M are trending down and all we’re left with is Tom Herman’s squad. It’s been a tough season for most of the state. North Texas fired its coach after a record-setting lopsided loss to Portland State. Texas Tech started strong, but regressed to the mean when the Big 12 schedule started. Texas’ only highlight was a win over Oklahoma. UTSA, UTEP and Rice are afterthoughts in the Conference USA race. Baylor and TCU were tasked with the chore of carrying the reputation of the state this season and injuries derailed each teams’ chances. It seems like nearly every starter on the TCU defense was banged up at some point this season, and now Gary Patterson must deal with the possible absence of Boykin. Art Briles was thrown a curveball when Russell’s injury required surgery and true freshman Jarrett Stidham was thrust into the starting role. That leaves Houston, and while it is hard to find a bigger fan of what Herman is doing for the Cougars than me, asking the Cougars to make a run at a top spot in this year’s rankings is impossible. Houston still needs to get past Navy to finish the season undefeated, but if it does, the Cougars take the crown inside Texas this season.