HYPE INDEX: Your guide (and predictions) for Week 6 in Texas college football

This is the Texas College Football Hype Index, where Dave Campbell’s Texas Football managing editor Greg Tepper ranks the FBS college football games in Texas from least-watchable to most-watchable.9: Western Kentucky at UTEP, 7 p.m. Saturday in El Paso The Mike Price Era, Vol. 2 drops on Saturday night in El Paso, and honestly, expectations couldn’t be lower. UTEP has been dreadful in essentially every aspect of football, so any step forward would be a coup. Western Kentucky’s defense should be the dominant force in this game, but all we want to see is a pulse from the Miners. Watchability Rating: 2 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Western Kentucky 38, UTEP 78: Army at Rice, 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Houston A meet-up of two bad teams, Army has fallen back from what it was in its breakout 2016 campaign. The interesting question here: can Rice take advantage of the Black Knights’ porous rushing defense? It may not matter, though, if the Owls’ offensive line can’t take a step forward. Watchability Rating: 2 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Army 35, Rice 147: Louisiana-Monroe at Texas State, 2 p.m. Saturday in San Marcos This is a good test of just how much Texas State has improved this season. Louisiana-Monroe is nothing special — they have a pretty decent zone-read offense, but that’s about it — and this game is in San Marcos. If Everett Withers and company have taken a couple of steps forward over the first six weeks, it should show here. Consider this a “prove it” game for the Bobcats. Watchability Rating: 3 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Louisiana-Monroe 26, Texas State 176: Texas Tech at Kansas, 11 a.m. Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas A week after coming thisclose to knocking off a nationally ranked powerhouse in front of a raucous Lubbock crowd, Tech has to motivate itself to go on the road and play the worst team in the conference. There are trap elements here — Kansas is improved, and they run the ball pretty effectively — but Nic Shimonek and company should feast on a lackluster Jayhawks secondary. Watchability Rating: 4 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Texas Tech 48, Kansas 245: Southern Miss at UTSA, 6 p.m. Saturday in San Antonio This is the first of a two-game set that will define the Roadrunners’ season, as UTSA draws a reeling Southern Miss squad. This is still a pretty good Golden Eagles’ team — the secondary is strong and their running game can be salty — but at home coming off a bye week, a conference championship contender should handle their business. Expectations are high; how will UTSA respond? Watchability Rating: 6 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: UTSA 35, Southern Miss 214: Kansas State at Texas, 6 p.m. Saturday in Austin How much have things changed in Austin? There has been no bigger tormentor of the Longhorns than Bill Snyder’s Wildcats (well, maybe the Sooners), and they are doing what they normally do — run the ball well and play solid defense. Texas has had two extra days to prepare, a home crowd and potentially a great defense. Can they shake their demons? Watchability Rating: 7 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Texas 27, Kansas State 203: No. 1 Alabama at Texas A&M, 6:15 p.m. Saturday in College Station It’s always exciting when the best team in college football rolls into the Lone Star State, but it may not be that exciting for the Aggies. Alabama is really good at everything, and while Kellen Mond’s legs and Armani Watts’ ballhawking ability could cause the Ags some trouble, it probably won’t be enough. There’s a chance A&M keeps it close and makes it exciting, but if they sleepwalk through one half like they’ve been wont to do this season, this could turn into a snuff film. Watchability Rating: 7 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Alabama 48, Texas A&M 242: SMU at Houston, 6 p.m. Saturday in Houston If you’re a Texas football nerd like us, this is Christmas. It’s two under-the-radar teams facing off in a strength-on-strength matchup — SMU’s high-flying offense against Houston’s lockdown defense (although star defensive tackle Ed Oliver’s availability remains a question). But it’s the other side of the ball that’s more intriguing, and will likely decide the game. Can Houston’s offense finally get in gear? Can SMU’s hit-or-miss defense step up to the challenge? This game could go any which way, and we can’t wait. Watchability Rating: 9 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: Houston 31, SMU 281: No. 23 West Virginia at No. 8 TCU, 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth If it’s good enough for College Gameday, it’s good enough for us. Fort Worth should be rocking on Saturday afternoon with a chance to prove that they’re bona fide Big 12 contenders. West Virginia is an odd bunch — they’re off to an impressive start, but how much of it is due to the soft early-season schedule? The WVU passing game should be a great test for TCU’s secondary, but the Frogs should be able to get their suddenly prodigious running game going. Expect a great one, but also expect a TCU win. Watchability Rating: 9 out of 10 Tepper’s Prediction: TCU 41, West Virginia 27