This is the Maroon & Golden Power Rankings for the 12 Texas FBS teams. We will update this throughout the season as we learn more about each team in 2019. This ranking is a purely subjective ranking based on how each team is trending and who we think is better than the next.
Texas – UT finished last season with a 10-4 record, the best in Texas, and a win against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. UT will likely be on several top 10 national rankings and I think there are very few that would disagree with this ranking.
Texas A&M – A&M finished 2018 with a 9-4 record and a 4 game winning streak that included a blowout victory against NC State in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl. If there is any other Texas FBS team that can give UT a run for the number one spot in 2019, it’s A&M. However, they will have another difficult schedule that includes road games against Clemson, Georgia, and LSU. They also have to play Alabama, Mississippi State, and Auburn at home.
TCU – TCU finished ahead of both Baylor and Texas Tech in the Big 12 standings in 2018. However, they only finished with a record of 7-6 which tied them with Baylor. They did also have a loss against Texas Tech prior to Tech finishing the season on a 5 game losing streak and a worse record. TCU showed signs of improvement towards the end of the season as they went on a 3 game win streak to make the Cheez-It Bowl and beat Cal in a 10-7 OT win.
Baylor – Baylor also finished last season with a 7-6 record. They are ranked below TCU in our ranking simply because they finished below them in the Big 12 standings and lost to TCU in the final couple games of the season. TCU is trending up and while Baylor is also trending up, they are just a step behind TCU. Baylor beat Texas Tech in the final game of the regular season to secure a bowl game and went on to beat Vanderbilt in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl.
University of North Texas – This pick may be a little controversial, but I believe the G5 teams from Texas get overlooked far too often in national power rankings. UNT has had a miraculous turnaround under Seth Littrell. It might be even more miraculous that they’ve been able to hold on to him despite their success. It wasn’t too long ago when UNT was averaging 2-3 wins a season. In 2018, UNT defeated every Texas team they faced, including an SMU team that beat Houston.
Texas Tech – Tech ended the season on a 5 game losing streak including losses to Texas and Baylor. They did however beat TCU in a defensive struggle 17-14 and UH in a 63-49 game. With a new HC in Matt Wells, it’s yet to be seen how Texas Tech will fare in 2019.
University of Houston – UH had a disappointing ending to the 2018 season. After starting the season 7-1, they went on to lose 4 of their last 5 games beginning with a loss to SMU and including their bowl game against Army. UH and the AAC for that matter, have been making a huge push to be considered among the P5 programs in football. They took a step in the wrong direction last season, but have since fired Applewhite and brought in West Virginia’s HC Dana Holgorsen. We’ll see if they can get things turned back in the right direction in 2019.
SMU – SMU finished the season 5-7 with losses to UNT and TCU. However, they did beat Houston down the stretch. The only reason I don’t have them ranked above Houston already is because I don’t believe they are there yet. Upsets can happen, and I haven’t seen anything in the previous seasons or offseason that would indicate they are ready to leapfrog UH for Texas dominance of the AAC. SMU does play UNT, TCU, TXST, and UH in 2019, so they have a great opportunity to prove their worth in the ranks of Texas FBS schools.
UTSA – UTSA is definitely trending in the wrong direction under Frank Wilson. If he isn’t already on the hot seat, he should be. UTSA made their first ever bowl game in 2016 during Wilson’s first year as HC with a record of 6-6. They then went 6-5 in 2017 and despite being bowl eligible again, they were passed over for other teams. Finally, in 2018 they finished with a 3-9 record. Their only 3 wins last season were to the 3 teams that are ranked below them on this list.
Texas State – As a TXST fan, it breaks my heart that I have to rank us this low on our list. However, this is where TXST belongs until they can prove otherwise. Playing in a conference with no other Texas schools gives us little opportunity to see how we stack up against the other Texas FBS teams. The only chance we have to compare ourselves is in out of conference games. In 2019, TXST has games against Texas A&M and SMU, but won’t play UTSA again until the 2020 season. With a new HC that will put a focus on improving the offense, TXST could move up this list pretty quickly this season.
UTEP – Unfortunately for the Miners, UTEP has become known as the worst program in FBS in recent years. They finally got a win after going 0-12 the season before, but unless 2nd year HC Dana Dimel can figure something out they may be destined for another rough season.
Rice – Rice finished last season 2-11, which was better than UTEP’s 1-11 record. Unfortunately for Rice, UTEP’s only win was against Rice. They will get the opportunity to improve perceptions this season as they play 5 other Texas teams on this list including a rematch with UTEP to end the season.
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