SWC Poll and Preview: Week 7
Texas looks to find its footing at Red River, Texas A&M and Texas Tech seek to stay on course, and TCU and SMU take on struggling opponents
Ranking and previewing the teams that used to make up the Southwest Conference has brought a new joy into the lead-up to each week of college football. This week’s iteration combines the SWC Poll and the SWC Preview in one place, and if this is something y’all enjoy, this is how I’ll handle making this piece every week.
It was a pretty static week in the former SWC. Only one team lost—and trust me, there’s a lot to say about the Texas Longhorns. Other than that, there really wasn’t much, which isn’t great for content but is fantastic for the teams themselves.
With the lack of fireworks last Saturday, that only means something insane is bound to happen this weekend. Whether that comes in the form of an improbable upset or just a really entertaining football game remains to be seen. As I always say, the only way to find out is to watch the games.
The Southwest Conference is my baby. Once I’m able to purchase a PS5 (or somebody buys it for me), my plan is to resurrect the league in EA Sports College Football 26. For now, writing a weekly poll and preview is the best I can muster, and I hope everybody understands.
Here’s the SWC Poll and Preview for Week 7.
SWC Poll
1. Texas A&M (NM)
Week 6 result: 31-9 win vs. Mississippi State
For the second consecutive week, Texas A&M’s defense completely suffocated an opponent—Mississippi State was held to just 219 total yards of offense and nine points. Pair that dominant defensive performance with what the offense continues to do, and the Aggies have quite the special team in College Station.
2. Texas Tech (NM)
Week 6 result: 35-11 win at Houston
Texas Tech is just a different beast on the lines of scrimmage compared to any other school in the Big 12. As I said in the Week 7 D Poll on Wednesday, all those new players in the trenches were money well spent. That offense can really hum, too. Behren Morton was back and healthy after leaving the Utah game, and he was dynamite. Tailback J’Koby Williams also stood out, averaging 5.6 yards per carry and finding the end zone twice. The Red Raiders are good, and that new logo they’re planning to use in 2026 is also pretty sick. (Is that what the kids are saying nowadays?)
3. TCU (+1)
Week 6 result: 35-21 win vs. Colorado
The Horned Frogs struggled out of the gate against Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes but found their stride late in the fourth quarter. Despite being down 14-0, they still managed to cover the spread. Josh Hoover had a bounce-back evening after facing challenges at Arizona State, while Eric McAlister and Kevorian Barnes returned from injury to help bolster the offense. The defense forced four turnovers en route to the revenge victory. Beating Colorado in 2025 isn’t all that impressive, but given the history between the Frogs and Buffaloes, it makes sense why everybody in Fort Worth was so ecstatic to pull out that win.
4. Baylor (+1)
Week 6 result: 35-34 win vs. Kansas State
Dave Aranda has Sawyer Robertson (and a timely pick-six by K-State quarterback Avery Johnson) to thank for why he’s not on the hot seat right now. If it weren’t for Robertson’s heroics down the stretch last Saturday, the Bears would’ve suffered their third loss of the season, and there would’ve been uproar in Waco. Instead, Baylor moved to 4-2 and appears to be gaining some momentum as it heads into the Revivalry against TCU next week.
5. Texas (-2)
Week 6 result: 29-21 loss at Florida
“Disappointing” is the only word that comes to mind when I think about the Longhorns. Everything was supposed to fall into place for them in 2025, but instead, all the pieces have shattered. Arch Manning is nowhere near the Heisman quarterback he was promised to be, the offensive line is playing abysmally, and the receivers can’t get separation. The defense is definitely the bright spot, but even that unit got run over by a Florida offense that had been inept for the first quarter of the season. Something’s got to change fast, because if it doesn’t, this is going to be one of the biggest letdowns in Texas football history.
6. Houston (NM)
Week 6 result: 35-11 loss vs. Texas Tech
There are two massive takeaways from Houston’s defeat to Texas Tech:
The Cougars just aren’t there yet on the lines of scrimmage. Sure, some of that could be because they were facing a far superior Red Raiders squad, but let’s be real—there are definitive deficiencies there.
Conner Weigman left the game against Texas Tech with a head injury. That was a huge blow, but according to the Big 12’s weekly injury report, he’s listed as probable for their next game at Oklahoma State.
Other than that, Houston just stayed the course. They weren’t expected to beat Texas Tech, and since they performed about as expected, they’ll stay right where they are at No. 6.
7. SMU (NM)
Week 6 result: 31-18 win vs. Syracuse
The Mustangs’ victory over Syracuse was as close to a complete win as they’ve had all season, and even then, it still wasn’t all daisies and roses. SMU was up 24-3 at the half but was outscored 15-7 the rest of the way. Sure, they were coasting, but it still would’ve been nice to see them put their foot on the throat of an Orange team without its starting quarterback. With the games they’ve played so far, it’s hard to see the ceiling being that high for SMU. The dream of back-to-back CFP berths is probably unrealistic at this point.
8. Arkansas (+1)
Week 6 result: BYE
Congrats, Razorbacks—you didn’t play a game and still jumped a spot in the SWC Poll! That’s got to count for something, right?
This isn’t a case of Arkansas doing anything on its own, though it did fire Sam Pittman and make a slew of coaching staff changes—Bobby Petrino being named interim head coach chief among them. Arkansas’ rise is solely due to there being no better option. You think I’m seriously going to put Rice above the Hogs two weeks in a row after what the Owls did last week? Absolutely not. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a dummy.
9. Rice (-1)
Week 6 result: 27-21 loss vs. Florida Atlantic
OK, maybe I am a little dumb. I proclaimed last week that Rice was “not a great team by any means, but from what I’ve seen through five games, they’re certainly a group of players and coaches that can hold their own against pretty much anybody left on their schedule.” After losing to Florida Atlantic—a team currently in the midst of its own rebuild—I’ll rescind that statement just a tad. Maybe I was a bit too bullish on a team that hasn’t proven anything over the past 50 years. My bad.
