Best in Texas (11/16): Baylor concedes first-place votes; Houston pulls away from Texas A&M

Soak it in, y'all. Houston is the state's last remaining unbeaten team. Houston.

Baylor was dealt its first loss at McLane Stadium on Saturday in a prime-time showdown with Oklahoma and TCU barely survived a scare from Kansas. How did those performances affect the Bears and Horned Frogs in this week's standings?

Here's a look at this week's Best in Texas poll, which is voted on by the Dallas Morning News' college insiders and bloggers, as well as Denton Record-Chronicle's Brett Vito. Make sure to click here to view the full breakdown.

1. Baylor, 129 points (8 first-place votes)

Baylor Bears (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) / Last: lost 44-34 to Oklahoma / Next: at Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.

Baylor football lost its first game at home since Oct. 13, 2012, and its first game at McLane Stadium ever. The Bears struggled to contain Baker Mayfield, and it showed in a 44-34 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. At this point, the Bears' playoff hopes are virtually gone. Now the task will turn to finishing the season 3-0 and keeping themselves in contention for a Big 12 championship. If the Bears win out, they will need Oklahoma to lose another game and to beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., for the first time since 1939. -- Shehan Jeyarajah

2. TCU, 120 points (2 first-place votes)

TCU Horned Frogs (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) / Last: 23-17 win over Kansas / Next: at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla.

Will quarterback Trevone Boykin be ready to go against the red-hot Sooners? And just how severe was the ankle injury he sustained against Kansas on Saturday? Coming off a near disaster at home, it's clear that a healthy Boykin is the likely difference between competing for wins against Oklahoma and Baylor and finishing the season with a 0-2 thud. Should Boykin, Josh Doctson and company be good to go, pull a stunner in Norman while Baylor takes care of business at Oklahoma State this week -- far from a given -- Nov. 27 suddenly becomes a mammoth date on the Big 12 schedule again. But it all starts with Boykin and his status. -- Jose Rodriguez

3. Houston, 111 points (1 first-place vote)

Houston Cougars (10-0, 6-0 AAC) / Last: 35-34 win over Memphis / Next: at UConn, 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.

Tom Herman and Houston found a way. After trailing by 20 points and losing starting quarterback Greg Ward to an injury in the second quarter, the Cougars found a way to mount a comeback and earn a 35-34 victory over No. 21 Memphis. Kyle Postma, who replaced Ward, was the hero as he compiled nearly 300 yards of offense and two touchdowns, including what would be the game-winner. Memphis had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but Jake Elliott pushed a 48-yard field goal wide right. Houston should rise up the national polls this week. -- E.J. Holland

4. Texas A&M, 102 points

Texas A&M Aggies (7-3, 3-3 SEC) / Last: 41-17 win over Western Carolina / Next: at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville

Though Kyler Murray launched three touchdown passes in a 41-17 victory against the Catamounts on Saturday, he also threw two interceptions, a few passes that likely should have been picked off,and struggled with his deep passing before giving way to Kyle Allen late in the game. Though head coach Kevin Sumlin gave the impression that both quarterbacks were part of the game plan forSaturday in the post game press conference, allowing both signal callers to take snaps is once again opening the debate for who should start under center. Bowl positioning is on the line as A&M closes out 2015 with two road contests against Vanderbilt followed by LSU.  -- Brandon Wheeland

5. Texas Tech, 88 points

Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-5, 3-5 Big 12) / Last: 59-44 win over Kansas State / Next: Bye

The Red Raiders are bowl eligible after four weeks of trying, following a 59-44 win over Kansas State. There was excitement all around for Texas Tech as coach Kliff Kingsbury notched his first career victory over Kansas State and coach Bill Snyder.

DeAndre Washington delivered a highlight-laced, explosive performance in his final game at Jones AT&T Stadium. The senior running back rushed for a career-high 248 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats' defense, which entered the contest as the Big 12's leading rush defense. A bye week allows the Red Raiders to rest and recover before beginning preparations for their final matchup against Texas. -- Michael DuPont

6. Texas, 77 points

Texas Longhorns (4-6, 2-4 Big 12) / Last: 38-20 loss to West Virginia / Next: Bye

The Longhorns hopes of winning their first road game this season sank after five turnovers led to a 38-20 loss to West Virginia on Saturday. Texas managed to outgain the Mountaineers 439-379 but couldn't overcome their mistakes. West Virginia scored 24 points off Texas' turnovers. The Longhorns now have to win their last two games to make a bowl game. It'll be a tall task for Texas as it plays the No. 1 and No. 3 offenses in Baylor and Texas Tech, including a road game in Waco. -- Nick Castillo

7. UTEP, 62 points

UTEP Miners (4-6, 2-4 Sun Belt) / Last: 31-21 loss to Old Dominion / Next: vs. Louisiana Tech, 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sun Bowl in El Paso

UTEP lost this week and handed Old Dominion its second straight win over a Texas-based opponent (UTSA last week). The Miners turned the ball over twice and were outgained by nearly 140 yards on Saturday, even after taking a 9-3 lead in the first quarter. Things will not get any easier next week when UTEP plays Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have three losses this season: at Kansas State, at Mississippi State and a tight game on the road against Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech has won its last three games by an average of 32.3 points per game. -- Shehan Jeyarajah

8. Rice, 57 points

Rice Owls (4-5, 2-3 C-USA) / Last: 65-10 loss to Southern Miss / Next: at UTSA, 6 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio

The Rice Owls finally erased the zero from the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, but the game over well before then. The Golden Eagles of Southern Miss had no problem handing Rice its third consecutive defeat with a 65-10 blowout on Saturday night. The Owls allowed 682 yards of total offense, with Southern Miss' starting quarterback Nick Mullens launching five touchdown passes in the first half before heading to the bench and allowing backup Tyler Matthews to get some snaps.Rice gets a shot to halt the three-game skid next weekend against UTSA while trying to keep bowl hopes alive.  -- Brandon Wheeland

9. SMU, 39 points

SMU Mustangs (1-9, 0-6 AAC) / Last: 55-14 loss to Navy / Next: vs. Tulane, 7 p.m. Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas

After looking pretty darn good against Temple last week, the Mustangs were flat out awful in a blowout loss to Navy over the weekend. SMU struggled to get anything going on offense and were hammered by Navy's run heavy triple option attack. The Mustangs are still winless in conference play and have more question marks than answers heading into the final couple of weeks of the season. SMU has a winnable game at home against Tulane this week. Can the Ponies take advantage? It's possible, but SMU needs to find a way to play a complete game. -- E.J. Holland

10. UTSA, 37 points

UTSA Roadrunners (2-8, 2-4 C-USA) / Last: 30-27 (OT) win over Charlotte / Next: vs. Rice, 6 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio

The Roadrunners notched their second win in Conference USA play, this time a road win in overtime against Charlotte. Junior running back Jarveon Williams rushed for a career-high 181 yards against the 49ers while Dalton Sturm tossed a pair of touchdowns in the victory.

The sophomore quarterback was sacked five times for the second consecutive week, bringing the Roadrunners' total to 28 sacks allowed in the last six weeks. UTSA will play its final two games at home, beginning with Rice this weekend. The Owls are coming off a 65-10 home loss to Southern Mississippi. -- Michael DuPont

11. Texas State, 23 points

Texas State Bobcats (2-7, 1-4 Sun Belt) / Last: 41-19 loss to Georgia State / Next: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos

The Bobcats lost their seventh game of the season - a 41-19 loss to Georgia State- which eliminated Texas State from any bowl game considerations. The Bobcats were outgained 643-453 yards and threw two interceptions. Texas State was able to intercept two passes but were unable to take advantage of the Panthers' mistakes. The Bobcats have a short week as they play Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night in search of their third win of the season. -- Nick Castillo

12. North Texas, 13 points

North Texas Mean Green (1-9, 1-5 C-USA) / Last: 24-0 loss to Tennessee / Next: at Middle Tennessee, 11 a.m. Saturday at Johnny (Red) Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

North Texas faced a tough situation - something that has been a theme throughout a lost season - on Saturday in a game at Tennessee. The Mean Green were massive underdogs against the Volunteers, but battled the whole way in a 24-0 loss that was closer than many expected. UNT's much-maligned defense played one of its best games of the year and allowed just seven points after halftime. -- Brett Vito