Texas CFB Recap: Longhorns rebound as Texas State stays hot with big win over UTSA. Who else has a good Week 2?

TEXAS, USA — We’re two weeks into the college football season in the books, and I can’t make fun of Florida State this season! They are BACK!

Just ask poor ol’ East Texas A&M, which just got beat 77-3 by the Seminoles. But they did get $450,000 for the thrashing. It all evens out in the end. 

Here are our other takeaways from the second week of college gridiron action around the Great State of Texas.

Was it better than their season-opening loss to Ohio State? It was. 

I don’t know that Arch Manning overwhelmed us, but he was solid in the Longhorns’ home opener breezing past San Jose State, 38-7. He threw four TD passes against his one interception. He also scored on the ground. It was the perfect “get-right” game at just the right time for Texas. 

And now UTEP comes to Austin for what we might call their second-to-last “get-ready” game. They host Sam Houston the following week for what will surely be their third straight win before opening SEC play on the road in The Swamp at Florida. #HookEm

Hey! Hey! What can we say? 

Well, we can say that Texas State was the better team — again — after they beat the home team, 43-36.

The Bobcats are all over X saying they now own the 2-1-0. I’ll stop short of that, but it was impressive nonetheless. That game was wild Saturday inside the Alamodome as each team answered the other’s punches back and forth in the second half. 

It was highly entertaining, but highly disappointing for the Roadrunners. 

The UTSA defensive secondary is a “work in progress, in the words of head coach Jeff Traylor, but he’ll also tell you that his team simply has to be better across the board. The one bright spot over anything else with UTSA’s 0-2 start is the play of running back Robert Henry. Wow! Have you seen the guy? It’s over once he gets second-level, and he’s done that in both regular-season games thus far in Aggieland and in the home opener against the Bobcats. 

It’s a shame the team didn’t close out last Saturday for him, if anything. The Roadrunners’ September struggles continue for another consecutive season; the best they can finish this month is 2-2 if they beat FCS Incarnate Word this weekend and then win at Colorado State the following weekend. They’d absolutely take that after the start they’ve had. #BirdsUp

Head coach Clint Killough told me they understand the magnitude of this week’s matchup with the UTSA, but will they be able to compete 11 on 11? 

I’ve been on the record that I don’t like this game being played. It doesn’t do either side any good, and Jeff Traylor confirmed that thought during his Tuesday media availability. The Cardinals don’t quite have the same offensive power they’ve had in recent years, and UTSA is surely displeased with their 0-2 start, so that combination could prove rough for the Cardinals on Saturday in the Alamodome. 

This game is one side with the other. UTSA would love to get on track with big offensive numbers and stout defensive numbers. And UIW? Well, they’d love to pull the stunner. Would there be anything better for their recruiting than to tell the world that an FCS team just upset an FBS team? 

I don’t see it happening, but in my heart I also don’t want the Cardinals to get beat really “bad,” whatever that would mean. Like I said, I don’t love this game being played, but it is on the schedule, so we’ll line ‘em up and see what happens. #TheWord

So much for UTSA returning the favor after getting whacked in San Marcos last season. The Bobcats were available Saturday in the Alamodome. They answered every single call in the third and fourth quarters. 

They didn’t blink. Every time they lost the second half lead they absolutely took it right back. It was very impressive on the road. So the I-35 trophy stays right where it is. That hurts on the UTSA end of things, but sounds great for Bobcat Nation. #EatEmUp

We had us some Aggies vs. Aggies last weekend in College Station. 

At one point in the game, the home team Aggies sacked the Utah State quarterback three straight times. Poor guy. 

The A&M offense in turn put up 30 first-half points as they rolled to a 44-22 win, improving to 2-0. 

But I just don’t know. Remember — and they probably dislike me for saying this (I would) — no college football program more overhypes to then under-deliver quite like Texas A&M Football. But what we don’t know, we may be about to find out. 

The Aggies are in South Bend on Saturday to face Notre Dame. So are the Irish good? We think so? They’ve only played one game and that was a three point loss at top-10-ranked Miami. Notre Dame is ranked eighth with an 0-1 record. That should tell us just what the AP voters think of them. 

Big spot for Aggieland on Saturday night! #GigEm

That was fun! Hope you watched that game! 

The Bears were down 38-24 with 8:38 left on the fourth-quarter clock. You thought they were curtains, didn’t ya? I hadn’t closed the door, knowing how quick college offenses can score these days. 

And there ya go! The next thing we knew, Baylor was leaving town with an improbable 48-45 double-OT win over SMU. What a moment for head coach Dave Aranda, who is surely feeling the pressure this season. Season -saver? Probably early to say that in week two, but 0-2 would not have looked good on paper before hitting their Big12 schedule. 

Sometimes timing is everything. Samford comes calling to Waco this weekend, a game the Bears should dominate with a 99% game predictor possibility of winning, according to ESPN. So what looked so bleak after starting 0-1 and then just minutes away from being 0-2 now has the likely prospect of being 2-1 after this coming weekend. 

Sports, man. Just keep on playing. #SicEm

They roughed up Kent State, 62-14, improving to 2-0. They welcome winless Oregon State this weekend to Lubbock and the Red Raiders are favored by more than three touchdowns. 

But enough boring game talk. How about the drama with the tossing of tortillas at kickoff. Have you heard about this? The student section at Jones’ AT&T Stadium continues tossing tortillas high into the sky and toward the field at kickoff despite the Big12 rule now in place saying “NO.” 

Personally, I’m a supporter of breakfast tacos and fajitas, so let’s hope the conference rule takes full effect. I mean, what’s taken so long with the “We’re wasting food” conversation. We are, aren’t we? This should be a thoughtful case of supply and demand for West Texas Tex-Mex restaurants. Wanna improve the Texas economy? Then start putting guac on your tortillas instead of throwing them onto the field turf! You’re better than that, Red Raider Nation! #WreckEm

Houston beat Rice, 35-9. The Battle of the Bayou City! (I’ve no idea if it is called that. Just made that up. Sounded fun.) 

And another nod to U-T-R-G-V! The Vaqueros played their first road game and got it done at Prarie View A&M, 27-21! They are 2-0 in their inaugural season. Hey, don’t tell ’em they can’t!