Kevin Sherrington

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A week into another college football season, the rust is off and we can hit the reset button.

Going up: Texas, which discovered a star it didn't even know it had in D.J. Monroe.

Going down: Oklahoma, which has seen more stars implode lately than the Hubble.

Holding steady: Texas' Top 10, our ranking of the state's Football Bowl Subdivision programs.

Ever since the breakup of the old Southwest Conference, may she rest in peace, veterans have longed for the days when most of Texas' teams squared off against each other for bragging rights at the Dairy Queen. Unfortunately, it's not within my power to bring it back. For that matter, reconstitution of the SWC probably violates several international treaties.

Anyway, these rankings offer a facsimile of the results that the SWC once faithfully provided, and without all the NCAA investigations.

Last week, the Texas 10 got off to a pretty good start, with the exceptions of TCU, which didn't play, Rice and UTEP. And the Miners had a last-second touchdown that would have meant another win called back against Buffalo.

Fortunately for Mike Price, losing to the Bulls is no longer a career-killer.

Tip for any Big 12 bosses looking for a new coach in a few months: If you don't hire Buffalo's Turner Gill, pride of Fort Worth, you deserve what your boosters do to you.

Mack Brown's only slip-up in a 59-20 opening win over Louisiana-Monroe was that he didn't cover the spread. From the rich-just-keep-getting-richer files, however, Brown apparently has found an alternative to running Colt McCoy into the ground.

Getty Images

D.J. Monroe and Texas are on the upswing in Kevin Sherrington's Texas' Top 10 rankings.

The first time he touched a ball in college, Monroe, a mere 170 pounds, returned a kick 89 yards. He also had 64 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Because of Monroe's slight build, Brown says, 11 touches a game might be all the kid can handle. It's why he was first tried at wide receiver. But, if I recall correctly, Eric Metcalf wasn't exactly a bruiser, either.

Hey, Greg Davis: Take it from Jason Garrett, who learned his lesson about leaving Felix Jones out of a game. Go with speed. Always.

Mike Leach lives by the credo, even when his quarterback is throwing it to the wrong people. Taylor Potts threw as many interceptions (three) as Leach's previous five quarterbacks made combined in their Texas Tech debuts. Potts was no doubt nervous, which is why God made teams like North Dakota.

Playing Wake Forest on the road was a far tougher task, which is why Baylor's 24-21 upset was the best win of the week for a Texas team.

The win gave credence to the growing notion that the Bears might be ready to move up another notch in the Big 12 South, should the Raiders falter. In our poll, Baylor will have its hands full just staying ahead of Houston and Case Keenum, the most underrated QB in the state.

Texas A&M's 41-6 wipeout of New Mexico was a good sign for the Aggies, too. Their confidence should continue to build over the next couple of weeks with Utah State and Alabama-Birmingham at home.

Rice's scouting report on UAB won't be much help. The Owls didn't handle UAB at all, losing, 44-24. It doesn't get any easier this week, either, with Tech in Lubbock.

Next up for the Owls after they've been Leached: Oklahoma State. Ugh.

If you're looking for the second-best win of the weekend, that's easy. And not just because it matched Todd Dodge's total from last season.

The Mean Green beat Ball State, 20-10, on the road, showing radical improvement on both sides of the ball. Riley Dodge gives UNT some options, running or passing. Yes, Ball State started three freshmen in its offensive line. Still, it was a win over an FBS team, which is more than SMU can say.

The Mustangs won by eight points over Stephen F. Austin, which, according to the Sagarin ratings, is the 193rd best team in the country. From here on out, June, it only gets harder.