Week 3 of the college football season delivered plenty of drama for Texas programs, with mixed results across the state.
SAN ANTONIO — The 2025 college football season has finished its third week delivering both fireworks and reality checks – especially in the great state of Texas.
The Longhorns looked a bit shaky with a 27-10 win over UTEP and UTSA and Texas State did what was expected with the Roadrunners defeating UIW and the Bobcats falling to Arizona State 15-34. Meanwhile Texas A&M shocked the nation with a jaw-dropping 41-40 nailbiter over Notre Dame.
Overall, given the results from the third week of college football, these teams cemented the belief that in the Lone Star State, every game matters.
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M’s thrilling game against Notre Dame on Sept. 13 has caused the Aggies to jump six places, landing at No. 10 on the AP Top 25 poll, as they were previously ranked No. 16.
Quarterback Marcel Reed, who’s worked his way up the Heisman short list, despite still being early in the season, secured the team’s victory by throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Nate Boerkircher with 13 seconds left. Kicker Randy Bond earned the extra point and the Aggies defeated No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40. The surprising victory leads many to believe the Irish played themselves right out of the playoff conversation while the Aggies made a bold statement.
In the next few months, Texas A&M has top ten matchups at LSU and Texas but given the remarkable game on Saturday, the Aggies will continue to be an interesting watch.
University of Texas
The Longhorns secured a 27-10 victory against UTEP Saturday, but Arch Manning noticeably struggled with “another poor passing game,” according to AP.
Many rumors surrounding possible issues with Manning’s throwing arm have been circulating but Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, almost angrily, dismissed the assumption before last week’s game.
During the game, Manning was more effective as a de facto running back carrying nine times for 51 yards and two touchdown runs. His passing numbers were 11/25 for 114 yards, he also threw an interception in the end zone, had 10 straight incompletions and was even booed by the home crowd.
Next, Sam Houston State comes to DKR Stadium this upcoming weekend. Teammates, coaches, fans and the entire college football world will be anticipating and expecting much better numbers from the Longhorns before they play three of their first four SEC games away from Austin.
University of Texas-San Antonio
The Roadrunners easily handled UIW inside the Alamodome Saturday with a little more than twenty thousand fans cheering as the game ended 48-20.
UTSA forced the Cardinals into four turnovers and played hard on offense – making scoring drives fairly easy.
The game gave the Roadrunners a much-needed confidence booster before their first away game of the season, with experts leaning towards UTSA winning in Fort Collins.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders are walking into their next game against the Utah Utes at 3-0.
Texas Tech rolled through Arkansas Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State – outscoring those three opponents by the combined number of 174-35.
Experts believe the game against Utah won’t be as easy for the Red Raiders, but their schedule doesn’t have them facing off against UT or Oklahoma, which historically has garnered bad results for Texas Tech. Lubbock has also never seen a Big 12 regular season football championship, but the team is optimistic that this is the season.
Texas State
Texas State fell short in an expected loss to Arizona State with the conclusion that the Sun Devils are becoming a decent Big 12 program.
Assuming the Bobcats can handle FCS Nicholls this weekend in San Marcos, Texas State should be feeling fine at (3-1) headed into their bye week.
Additions
The Baylor bears followed their remarkable rally at SMU with an easy 42-7 win over Samford. The (2-1) Bears welcome Arizona State to Waco this weekend and only play one more current ranked top twenty team for the rest of their season.
Plus, it’s the battle of DFW this weekend in Dallas as (2-1) SMU visits (2-0) TCU with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. in Fort Worth.
And the University of Houston (3-0) gets a break this week before getting back to work at Oregon State one week from Friday.