After a 66-42 win over rival TCU, SMU is closing in on a top two spot in our Best in Texas poll.
A new contender has joined the top three of our weekly Best in Texas rankings.
Following a blowout 66-42 win over TCU, SMU rose two spots to third in this week's poll and earned two second-place votes. The 77 points in our poll were the most for the Mustangs so far this season. SMU was only five points behind No. 2 Texas A&M
TCU, meanwhile, was knocked down from third to fifth in the rankings.
Elsewhere in the top five, No. 1 Texas held onto its spot after a 51-3 win over ULM in Arch Manning's first start, Texas A&M remained in second despite a close call against Bowling Green and Texas Tech held onto the No. 4 spot after its 30-22 win over Arizona State.
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See this week's full poll below.
Rank/TeamPointsPrev.1. Texas (7)9112. Texas A&M8223. SMU7754. Texas Tech7145. TCU6236. Texas State5867. Baylor4778. North Texas4489. Houston35910. Sam Houston221011. UTSA181112. Rice141213. UTEP813Advertisement
*first-place votes in parentheses.
This week's best in Texas panelists: Lia Assimakopoulos, Selby Lopez, Kevin Sherrington, Justin Apodaca, Sarah Smith, Brett Vito, Luke White.
1. Texas (4-0)
No. 1 Texas kept rolling in Arch Manning's first start, defeating ULM 51-3. The Longhorns open SEC play in Austin against Mississippi State in what could be Manning's second straight start as starter Quinn Ewers has been listed as questionable. -- Selby Lopez
Advertisement2. Texas A&M (3-1)
Texas A&M proved it still has plenty of things to clean up after surviving a 26-20 rock fight versus Bowling Green. The Aggies don't have much time to fix their flaws as matchups with Arkansas and Missouri loom before the bye week. -- Luke White
Advertisement3. SMU (3-1)
SMU brought the Iron Skillet back to Dallas in a dominant 66-42 win over TCU, reaching a season-high in points and scoring three non-offensive touchdowns. The Mustangs open ACC play against Florida State next week. -- Selby Lopez
4. Texas Tech (3-1)
The Red Raiders have matched Joey McGuire's best start to a season at 3-1 (1-0 Big 12) but still have some question marks. Tech has an opportunity to make it McGuire's best start with another home game against Cincinnati this weekend. -- Justin Apodaca
Advertisement5. TCU (2-2)
TCU's offensive and defensive weaknesses were exposed in the embarrassing loss to SMU in the 103rd Iron Skillet rivalry. -- Sarah Smith
6. Texas State (2-1)
The Bobcats are coming off a bye week and will face Sam Houston on Saturday. It will be Texas State's first game since its 31-28 loss to Arizona State on Sept. 12. -- Selby Lopez
Advertisement7. Baylor (2-2)
Baylor was seconds away from a win over Colorado before Shedeur Sanders' overtime-forcing Hail Mary. Dave Aranda's seat just got a little warmer ahead of Saturday's matchup against BYU. -- Selby Lopez
8. North Texas (3-1)
North Texas bounced back from a blowout loss at Texas Tech in impressive fashion while taking down Wyoming 44-17 to move to 3-1 on the season. The Mean Green open AAC play against Tulsa next week. -- Brett Vito
Advertisement9. Houston (1-3)
Houston's struggles continued in a 34-0 loss to Cincinnati. Quarterback Donovan Smith continued to struggle, throwing for just 73 yards on 11-of -16 passing. -- Selby Lopez
10. Sam Houston (3-1)
Four weeks into the season, Sam Houston already matched its win total from last year after defeating New Mexico State 31-11. The Bearkats face a tougher test against Texas State this week. -- Selby Lopez
Advertisement11. UTSA (2-2)
UTSA rebounded from its blowout loss to Texas with a 45-7 win over FCS opponent Houston Christian. The Roadrunners travel to take on East Carolina in their American Athletic Conference opener. -- Selby Lopez
12. Rice (1-3)
Rice allowed Army to score 30 straight points to open the game before falling 37-14. The Owls host Charlotte on Saturday. -- Selby Lopez
Advertisement13. UTEP (0-4)
UTEP, which hasn't played since Sept. 21 against Colorado State, enters a second straight off week before hosting Sam Houston on Oct. 3. -- Selby Lopez
Previous polls
-- Sept. 16
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-- Sept. 9
-- Sept. 2
-- Aug. 27
-- Preseason QBs poll
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-- Preseason coaches poll
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