Texas
First and 10: Texas is roaring into SEC, while Oklahoma is limping. What’s up with Oregon?
US LBM Coaches Poll: Michigan in big trouble after blow out loss to Texas
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll is here and the lopsided result in Texas’ win over Michigan sends both teams in different directions.
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You’ve heard it before, but now it’s undeniable: Texas football is back. That, plus Oregon’s struggles and a Notre Dame revelation in this week’s First and 10.
1. Texas football was lost but now it’s found in the SEC
A quick refresher for those forgetting just how unbearably lost Texas football was not so long ago.
The big, bad Longhorns, the most valuable television property in all of college sports, the kings of excess and the good life, actually complained to the Big 12 because rival Oklahoma — are you ready for this? — flipped the Hook ‘Em hand gesture and pointed down.
Mommy, the mean men are making fun of us again!
It’s enough to make every red-blooded college football fan puke.
I’m not sure what was more emasculating for once loud and proud Texas: that it complained, or that the Big 12 capitulated and started throwing flags on those flashing horns down.
Personal foul, Team Soft.
Now here we are, and the thought of that nonsense — with the ugly end to the golden era of Mack Brown, and the failed versions of Texas Is Back under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman — is far in the rearview.
Texas, everyone, is roaring into the SEC in its first season in the best conference in college football. Oklahoma is limping behind, scrambling for answers.
“We are capable of anything,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday at his weekly press conference. “We are entitled to nothing.”
Welcome, Texas, to officially being back.
It’s almost like the program with every possible advantage has been drawn into some strange football vortex with its entry into the SEC, the conference with every possible advantage. From annoying once-was demanding everything or else, to surging what-is taking anything it wants.
Meanwhile, there is bitter rival Oklahoma, which seemingly snuck into the SEC party on the tails of Texas (more on that later) — despite dominating Texas since the birth of the Big 12 in 1994.
Even with two losses in three games to the Sooners, Sarkisian is doing just about everything right. Recruiting at an elite level, developing NFL Draft picks and, more than anything, changing the longheld narrative of Texas football.
Elite players, elite coaching. We all know where this is headed.
2. Meanwhile, what’s up with Oklahoma football?
For every action, there’s a corresponding reaction. Or in this case, bad football at Oklahoma.
By the time it ended last weekend, Oklahoma had 252 total yards, punted eight times and averaged 5.2 yards per pass attempt in a four-point win over Houston.
All of that ugly underscored a growing narrative that – fair or not, real or not — has taken hold. Texas is is new SEC darling, the Sooners are the team tagging along.
Even though Oklahoma and coach Brent Venables have won two of three games against Sarkisian and Texas, even though one of Texas’ two losses in last year’s breakout season was to the Sooners, there’s skepticism in and outside Norman.
The same Oklahoma that couldn’t stop anyone in Venables’ first season lost twice by a combined eight points in the 2023 regular season to straighten the curves. That is, until Arizona thumped the Sooners in the Alamo Bowl, and until fans booed often last weekend during the uninspiring win over a rebuilding Houston team that was blown out by UNLV a week earlier.
If you think that’s a problem, let me introduce karma: In two weeks, after this weekend’s home game against Tulane, Oklahoma will play its first SEC game against white-hot Tennessee.
It was Vols coach Josh Heupel, who won a national title in 2000 as a plucky quarterback at Oklahoma, who helped kickstart the Sooner’s two decades of dominance over Texas with a Heisman Trophy finalist season. And it was Heupel who was summarily fired as offensive coordinator after the 2014 season – a move that, to this day, still motivates him.
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3. Texas is back, The Epilogue
Elite players win championships. It’s why Alabama, Clemson and Georgia have dominated the first decade of the College Football Playoff.
It’s why Texas truly is back.
Sarkisian’s first four recruiting classes at Texas were ranked 15th, fifth, third and sixth in the nation, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“It’s an acquisition game,” Sarkisian said in July. “How many impact players can you acquire, and can you develop them and get them to work toward the same thing?”
Especially at the most important position on the field.
The current Texas quarterback (Quinn Ewers) was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2021 and is a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. His backup (Arch Manning) was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2023.
Alabama, Georgia and Clemson combined for six national titles since 2016, and produced a combined four first-round picks at quarterback over that span. Every quarterback from those championship teams is playing in the NFL: Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and Stetson Bennett.
Meanwhile at Oklahoma, the offense dried up once Lincoln Riley left for Southern California after the 2021 season. Even the last two seasons with Dillon Gabriel, while productive, haven’t been program-defining like the past (see: Hurts, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield).
Texas has taken the Oklahoma offensive model, added some beef and bravado on defense and sped past the Sooners.
4. Notre Dame and the lost intangibles
College football has quickly become talent vs. experience and chemistry. The current formula is a roster of high school recruits mixed with transfer portal additions built to win now.
But that road many times lacks core principles of championship teams: the organically-built intangibles of leadership and chemistry. Case in point: the Northern Illinois upset of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame has 12 players on its two-deep roster that are either true freshmen, or transfers from the portal. There’s one true freshman on the Northern Illinois two-deep. And a whole lot of organically-developed upperclassmen.
It’s still about talent, but once emotion and motivation enter the picture, the dynamic of what should be a glorified scrimmage turns into a white-knuckle ride. It’s no different than the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, where a team full of one-and-dones is eliminated in the first round by a mid-major full of players – grown men – who have been with the program for years.
5. The Weekly Five: Southern California’s flex
Five teams that are better than we thought … maybe.
1. USC: New DC D’Anton Lynn’s unit has given up 20 points in two games, and QB Miller Moss is the next in a long line of prolific Riley quarterbacks.
2. Iowa State: Primed to roll in the next six weeks: Arkansas State, at Houston, Baylor, at West Virginia, Central Florida, Texas Tech.
3. Vanderbilt: With a win over Georgia State, Commodores will be 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
4. Syracuse: Ohio State gave up on QB Kyle McCord, who has changed his fortunes with the Orange..
5. San Jose State: New coach Ken Niumatalolo isn’t all about the triple option anymore.
6. An NFL scout’s view of Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible player. This week: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan. (The scout requested anonymity to protect the team’s draft preparations.)
“Tall, long and strong. He’s not a burner, but he does just about everything else at a high, high level. We’re so consumed with getting guys who can run well to stretch defenses that we overlook what the position is all about. It’s gaining separation and making difficult and routine catches. You’re talking about a guy who is all of 6-feet-5, with a large catch radius and terrific body control.”
7. Power Play: Tennessee moving up
This week’s College Football Playoff Poll (the 12-team bracket ranking and first four out) — and one big thing.
1. Georgia: Kentucky quit in last week’s loss to South Carolina, and now gets the king.
2. Ohio State: A lot of hype for an offense that has played two truly pitiful defenses (Akron, Western Michigan).
3. Miami: The defense – eight sacks, five turnovers forced, third-down conversion rate of 18.1%.
4. Oklahoma State: Don’t ignore a bad Tulsa team with Big 12 opener against Utah on horizon.
5. Texas: The Georgia game on Oct. 19 can’t get here soon enough.
6. Ole Miss: QB Jaxson Dart is averaging a whopping 14.7 yards per attempt.
7. USC: Two weeks to prepare for the first Big Ten game at Michigan.
8. Tennessee: If you’re not a believer in QB Nico Iamaleava and the Vols, check your pulse.
9. Alabama: Some things never change: Tide has 14 pass breakups, 13 QB pressures and five sacks.
10. Penn State: The Bowling Green struggle – an anomaly or an indicator?
11. Missouri: After two gimme putts, time to see if Mizzou is for real against Boston College.
12. Oregon: Ducks have 17 penalties, and only five other Power Four conference teams have more.
13. LSU: Same as it was – LSU is 107th in the nation in average yards per play (6.18), and 95th in third-down conversions (40.9%).
14. Utah: QB Cam Rising has seven touchdowns, no interceptions, 11.9 yards per attempt.
15. Clemson: Was way too early to file away QB Cade Klubnick and OC Garrett Riley.
16. Kansas State: Time to crank up dynamic QB Avery Johnson.
8. Mailbag: What’s up with Oregon?
Matt: Gently, please. Should I be worried about my Ducks? — Mindy Baker, Seattle.
Mindy: One is an anomaly, and two is … time to wonder what in the world is going on with a team full of talent on both sides of the ball that just can’t seem to play complementary football.
After games against Idaho and Boise State, Oregon is 84th in the nation in scoring defense (24 ppg) and 72nd in scoring offense (30.5 ppg). The problem this season is the very area where Dan Lanning made the greatest impact in his first two seasons: the lines of scrimmage.
The Ducks aren’t winning consistently at the point of attack on either side and are significantly worse on the offensive line. It’s not just missed assignments, it’s penalties (false starts and holding), bad snaps, poor technique from offensive tackles in pass sets and a lack of intensity from the middle three.
9. The numbers game: Introducing Jahvaree Ritzie
5. NFL scouts call it a money year – a final season when players reach their ceiling, knowing they’re playing for NFL money. College coaches call it development. Some players simply take longer to reach their potential.
Welcome to the argument, North Carolina DT Jahvaree Ritzie, who had eight career starts and 2½ career sacks in three previous seasons as a cog in the middle of the defensive line.
Now he leads the nation in sacks (five) as an interior lineman, no less. The obvious grand (and ridiculous) statement is Ritzie is on pace for 30 sacks.
The North Carolina single-season record for sacks is 16, set by Lawrence Taylor in 1980. If UNC plays 13 games (12 games plus a bowl game), Ritzie needs to average a sack a game to tie Taylor’s record.
10. The last word: Ryan Williams, Cam Coleman lead freshman receiving class
In this quarterback-heavy sport, we often become fixated on the most important position on the field and ignore the rest of the offense.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ridiculously talented freshmen receiving class.
After two weeks, blue-chip recruits Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Cam Coleman (Auburn), Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Bryant Wesco Jr. (Clemson) have combined for 25 catches and eight touchdowns.
More impressive is the combined average yards per catch of 26.7, and big plays of 84, 76, 70, 55 and 51 yards. They also have four combined plays of at least 41 yards.
We’re two games into the season, and this group already is must-see.
Matt Hayes is the national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at MattHayesCFB.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
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Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.
“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”
The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.
The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.
The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.
The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.
“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.
“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.
Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.
“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“
The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.
“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”
Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.
“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”
Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.
Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
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