Five questions that have to be asked after college football Week 8

What was that, North Texas? Just as we were ready to anoint North Texas as the official darling of the state, the Mean Green go and lay a massive egg in Boca Raton losing 69-31 to Florida Atlantic. Let’s be clear, FAU has looked like a juggernaut since it started its conference schedule, but nearly putting 70 on UNT following one of the biggest wins in school history was not expected. Though, Lane Kiffin going for it fourth down late in the fourth quarter leading by 47 points was sadistically enjoyable. The Mean Green defense aren’t world beaters, but surrendering 804 yards of total offense and letting the Owls score on their first 11 drives is unacceptable. Even an offense as potent as North Texas’ can’t keep pace with that. When will Texas’ moral victories turn into actual victories? It shouldn’t be a knock on the Longhorns for not beating No. 10 Oklahoma State, but the “good losses” have to be getting old for Texas fans. And despite what the actual team structure looks like, Tom Herman has worked instant-turnarounds at all of his previous stops so it wasn’t completely unreasonable for fans to anticipate a better season than the one that has been unfolding since the opening loss to Maryland. It’s obvious that Texas will take a bit longer to get on track compared to Herman's previous jobs, but that doesn’t make the path easier to endure. How much longer will it take for an abundantly talented Texas team to get over the hump of simply competing with top teams like USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to beating them? Every week Texas looks to be inching closer to a statement win. Don't worry, the Horns will have more chances against the likes of West Virginia, Texas Tech and TCU still on the schedule. Charlie Brewer time in Waco? This is 100 percent a rhetorical question, by the way. How can Matt Rhule not give true freshman Charlie Brewer a start after coming within a two-point conversion of knocking off No. 23 West Virginia and giving Baylor its first win of the season? Rhule has nothing to lose. Baylor isn’t going bowling and Brewer’s redshirt is already burned. While Zach Smith didn’t play poorly against the Mountaineers (16 of 27 for 261 yards) and Rhule said after the game that he was sick, Brewer looked as if he was back at Cavalier Stadium with how seamlessly he moved the offense with quick passes and staying nimble in the pocket. He completed 8-of-13 passes for 109 yards, rushed for 48 yards and threw two scores in a quarter after Baylor entered the fourth trailing 38-13. Why not give the kid a full go? Did we jump the gun with UTSA? The biggest instate mystery remains what would have happened if UTSA and Houston’s home opener had not been cancelled. The Roadrunners’ 3-0 start to the season looked to set the team up for a remarkable surge under second-year head coach Frank Wilson. But since the start of conference, UTSA’s torrid pace has dwindled. Even its 20-7 win over Rice Saturday wasn’t impressive despite the team’s 345 yards on the ground. That's not to say that Marcus Davenport wasn't impressive with 11 tackles, two sacks, 1 deflection and a fumble returned for a touchdown. But the overall team performance at home wasn’t exactly earth-shattering against a pretty bad Rice team that lost four straight by an average of 27.5 points coming into the contest. Did we get just a tad ahead of ourselves with UTSA? Considering the level of competition at the start of the season and the team Baylor has turned out to be, it’s possible. Regardless, UTSA is still cruising towards a second consecutive bowl berth and who knows, maybe a six or seven-win season as opposed to an eight or nine-win mark is enough to keep Wilson around for another year. Is Texas Tech going to miss a bowl game again this year? Following Saturday’s 31-13 defeat in Ames, it’s a growing possibility that the Red Raiders are once again left watching bowl season from home in Lubbock. Granted, it can be said that Texas Tech has made strides from last season, particularly on defense, but with Saturday’s loss, they’re running out of chances to prove it on the record sheet. Sitting at 4-3, Kliff Kingsbury has winnable home games against Kansas State and Baylor coming up with a season finale at Texas that could very well decide the bowl fate of both teams.