Musings on Texas and Boone State

I hear that Texas is underrated and "playing some of the best football in the country". Let's take a look at the Horns schedule so far:

• Florida Atlantic - FAU defeated Alabama-Birmingham 49-34. Aside from their 10-52 loss to Texas, they also sport 0-17 loss to Michigan State and 3-37 loss to juggernaut Minnesota. Minnesota has closer contests against Northern Illinois, Bowling Green and Montana State.
• UTEP - UTEP is 1-3, beating Central Florida but losing to Buffalo and New Mexico State.
• Rice - Rice dominates teams that run the chuck and duck, boasting wins over SMU, Memphis and North Texas.
• Arkansas - the Hogs trailed in the 4th quarter to Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe before winning. They lost by 35 to Bama before laying an egg against Texas.

See if you can match the scoring defense ranking with the opponent; a) 113; b) 104; c) 101; d) 106.

Now, which of these games did you expect the Horns to lose? Shouldn't they be 4-0? Shouldn't the team be "clicking on all cylinders"? McCoy didn't forget how to be a QB last year, he didn't have an o-line. His line has one more year of experience, and they've played some of the worst defenses in Division 1 this year. Their next foe, Colorado, is a veritable force to be reckoned with, ranking 63rd in scoring defense.

Now, onto Boone State:

• Washington State - WSU beat Portland State, who's never recovered from Neil Lomax and Clint Didier's departure. WSU is 96th in total offense and 106th in total defense. TheCougars followed up their 26 point loss to Okie State with a 28 pt loss to Baylor and a 49 point loss to Oregon.
• Houston - these Cougars are the closest thing to a quality win on the Boone State schedule to date. UH lost to Colorado State - whose only other victory was Sacramento State - and Air Force.
• Missouri State - Missouri State lost to Washburn. I'm not even bothering to research them further.
• Troy beat Alcorn state and Middle Tennessee, and but lost to Ohio State and Oklahoma State. Watching Troy play Houston would probably be riveting.

Match the school with their rushing defense ranking: a) 110; b) 112; c) 86; d) 118. Keep in mind that one of these schools is a 1-AA school.

Which one did you expect to beat Oklahoma State (ignore that I predicted a Troy upset)? Knowing what you know about their defenses now, which one would you expect to stop OSU? The Aggie Bowl is next, and Cash Machine U is 115th in rushing defense. The Aggies have allowed a 100 yard rusher in EVERY GAME SO FAR.