Texas Separates From the Speed States

By: John Schroeder
Updated: September 29, 2009

ATLANTA – When you are dealing with the college football speed states of Florida, Texas, and California, things can change in the blink of an eye. After week three, all eyes were on the Sunshine State as Tim Tebow and the Gators were rolling, “The U” was back with hurricane-force swagger, and Florida State seemed to have found their offensive rhythm beating BYU 54-28.

But before you could say “return to the glory days”, the wheels came off and the Lone Star State stepped to the forefront. As FSU was being shocked by new in-state rival USF and Miami was being upset by their oldest rival, Virginia Tech, two schools from Texas staked their claims to #1.

The Texas Longhorns turned up the heat Saturday, putting together a balanced attack of running, passing, and special teams to dominate UTEP 64 – 7. Meanwhile, the Houston Cougars came from behind to beat Texas Tech and the Cougars resume now boasts the highest quality wins and the biggest road win of 2009.

The Six Claims to #1:

• Favorite of Vegas: Florida – a 20-point favorite at Kentucky and 30-point favorite vs. Tennessee
• Quality Wins: Houston – back-to-back wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech
• Style Points: Florida – averaging a 31-point margin of victory against FBS opponents
• Hottest Right Now: Texas – followed up the Texas Tech victory with a 57 point win over UTEP
• Road Warrior: Houston –in week two walked out of Stillwater with the season’s biggest road win
• Best Undefeated: Houston – no one has beaten a tougher schedule to date

Please Note: The Top 25 Heat Index includes results for each team’s past four FBS games. At this point in the season some teams are disadvantaged having only played 2 FBS games (e.g. Houston) or 3 FBS games (e.g. Florida and Iowa).