The "SportsDay writers round table" is a weekly chat between the Dallas Morning News' three college football writers: Chuck Carlton, Ben Baby and Adam Grosbard. You can follow them on twitter at @ChuckCarltonDMN, @benbaby and @adamgrosbard. The chat is moderated by assistant sports editor Scott Bell. This week's chat takes a look back at one of the wildest opening weekends of college football in recent memory and takes a look ahead at this weekend's slate of games, while also taking a look at some of the area's big QB battles.

Scott Bell: Welcome to this week's writers round table, where we discuss all things college football in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. There's a lot of forward-looking things to talk about, but, uh -- there's quite a lot from last weekend to cover, too. Where to start?

Ben Baby: How about North Texas beating Lamar? I'm sure everyone kept a close eye on that game.

Chuck Carlton: TCU won. So did Texas Tech.

Bell: Lots of positive news for area fans!

Adam Grosbard: Yup, nothing negative at all.

Baby: However, I seem to recall a lot of talk about Texas, A&M and Baylor this weekend. And people always referenced alcohol in one way or another.

Grosbard: So which of those three losses was the worst? I'm inclined to choose Baylor because a loss to Liberty is an all-time upset. UCLA and Maryland at least are P5 teams.

Carlton: Actually, which game was the most shocking? In terms of the way it played out? UCLA beating A&M in the second biggest comeback in FBS history. You can argue that as an actual surprise -- UCLA was favored right? -- that Texas and Baylor losing were more stunning. The Aggies just have a flair for the dramatic.

Baby: I'd lean toward A&M. That was a crippling loss because that game should have never been that close after the way the Aggies started out. One of the more baffling performances in recent memory.

Grosbard: What happened to the Aggie pass rush that was bothering Rosen early in the game? Seemed to disappear in the third quarter.

Baby: Give UCLA credit for going to a no-huddle. The Bruins really had to do it out of necessity because they needed a ton of points, but it helped negate A&M's pass rush and kept A&M's young cornerbacks on their heels.

Carlton: And if the Aggie DB makes the interception on the ball in his hands -- or at least knocks it down -- instead of a TD, does the comeback happen?

Baby: Probably not. And let's not forget Kellen Mond grazed the sideline on a run that otherwise would have ended up in the end zone. Or that Otaro Alaka had a game-ending interception fall off his hands on UCLA's last drive. As UCLA QB Josh Rosen said afterwards, "We were an inch away from losing that game probably 10 times."

Carlton: A whole lot of things had to go right for UCLA to win. And a whole lot of things had to go wrong for the Aggies. And did.

Bell: We put up a poll on the website Sunday night asking readers which loss was the most crippling to its fan base and the consensus seemed to be A&M was the worst, Baylor was the second worst and Texas was the least crippling, and I'd be inclined to agree. But that's crazy to comprehend given the fact that it seemed by Saturday afternoon like the area story of the weekend was going to be Texas' loss to Maryland.

Chuck, you were in Austin on Saturday. How'd that turn from early pick-6/Longhorn nation going crazy to a Maryland boat race so quickly?

Carlton: The thing about the Texas loss to Maryland is there was no doubt about the better team. Most of the weird stuff that happened -- and there was a lot -- seemed to benefit Texas more than Maryland. Thing about this: after the opening tipped pick 6 by Holton Hill, Maryland outscored UT 30-7 the rest of the first half. And even win Texas rallied to within three twice, the true freshman backup Kasim Hill made plays like a veteran. Texas seemed to always be pressing. And a whole lot of throwback breakdowns to the Strong era. Most points Texas has allowed in a non-conference game since Rout 66.

Baby: Yeah, that was a bad loss that should concern Texas fans. The Longhorns have no business giving up that many points at home to Maryland.

Grosbard: But isn't it a little early in the Herman era for fans to boo and throw things on the field?

Carlton: Here's who Texas has next: San Jose State, at USC, at Iowa State on Thursday, K-State, vs. OU, Oklahoma State. How many wins in that group?

Baby: Texas should be able to get three of those. I'll take OU and Oklahoma State over the 'Horns.

Carlton: I'll take the under on that number.

Grosbard: I can't see Texas winning in the Colosseum. Darnold will have fun preparing for the Texas defense after that showing against Maryland.

Carlton: Even in the pass-happy Big 12, if you can't stop the run and you can't run the football, things get hard in a hurry.

Bell: We played the look ahead at the schedule game for Texas, do we dare do it for Baylor? Because if the Bears don't beat UTSA this week, I'm not seeing a game on that scheduled that they'll be favored in until November.

The rest of the September/October sked: vs. UTSA, @Duke, vs. Oklahoma, @Kansas State, @Oklahoma State, vs. West Virginia, vs. Texas

Carlton: Losing to an FCS team (one not named North Dakota State) out of the box really skews things. So does the secondary and o-line situations. And with Hasty out a minimum of four games with a sprained knee, the offense took another hit. And the thing on the Baylor sked is that West Virginia looks a lot better with Grier at QB, despite some undisciplined and costly penalties (including Dana).

Baby: Baylor could be in for a very rough year. This might be a tougher job than Matt Rhule anticipated.

Grosbard: If Baylor loses to UTSA, do we see the CAB-ers come back out? Or was that saved just for poor interim coach Jim Grobe?

Bell: Let's hope for everyone's sake that's a fad that's behind everyone. Judging by the reaction to the Briles/CFL stuff last week, I think everyone's finally getting close to being on the same page about Briles.

Baby: There will always be a few outliers, but I think you're right, Scott.

Carlton: Rhule is a good coach who deserves better. But Baylor lost a lot of talent in the aftermath of the sexual-assault scandal. That's why Rhule got a seven-year deal. It will take time. Anyone thinking that Baylor could go back to instant contention didn't see the damage that was done.

Baby: Don't forget that much of Baylor's 2016 recruiting class left and the Bears had to scramble at the end of the 2017 cycle to fill out its roster.

Grosbard: True Ben, that 2016 class breakdown will only get more painful the next couple years

Bell: Agreed. Baylor may have a lot of freshmen on its two-deep, but that's a lot more a product of the talent pool they're joining than a statement of the caliber of class it is.

We've spent all this time talking about teams that lost -- Adam, you were out at a game on Saturday where a local team won. I didn't even know that was allowed. What was your biggest takeaway from SMU's Week 1 win?

Grosbard: That SMU doesn't have one good quarterback, just three guys with several flaws. Ben Hicks is the defacto starter but Chad Morris is maintaining that Rafe Peavey and DJ Gillins will keep playing. It's not because all three are so amazing but because no one really stands out.

Carlton: Who has the most upside, Adam, in that offense?

Grosbard: Probably Gillins, the former Wisconsin QB. He injured his knee in JuCo last season and did not play spring ball for SMU. He doesn't have the chemistry or playbook knowledge to be the starter now but he has a strong arm and the feet to be the dual-threat guy that Morris likes. But he's a ways away from being ready to start.

Baby: It helps when you have a guy like Courtland Sutton to throw the ball to. That's a quality luxury to have.

Grosbard: That definitely helps. SFA did a good job of taking him out of the game Saturday, he only got one target after the first drive.

Bell: While we're on the subject of QB carousels, Ben -- what's the A&M situation coming out of the UCLA game?

Baby: We're waiting word on how bad Nick Starkel's injury is. If it's really serious, A&M will have to stick with Mond or turn to senior quarterback Jake Hubenak.

Grosbard: How many wins can A&M realistically expect if they have to stick with Mond?

Baby: I'm still sticking with A&M as a 6-6 team.

Carlton: And any reason why Sumlin didn't turn to Hubenak during the UCLA comeback? At least he can throw a little.

Bell: That was my question, too. It was odd watching A&M throw 3-yard passes in the final minute of the game.

Baby: A&M had the same problem with Hubenak last season. Against Mississippi, with Hubenak as a starter in the fourth, A&M had 19 yards on 10 carries as the Rebels made a comeback.

Bell: I bet Kyle Allen or Kyler Murray or hell, even Tate Martell, would've come in handy on Sunday.

Grosbard: So I know it's really early, but are we going to have two years in a row where no Texas teams finish in the Top 25? Can TCU be the answer there?

Baby: TCU should finish in the top 25. Gary Patterson typically doesn't have bad back-to-back years.

Carlton: We'll find out a lot more about TCU this weekend at Arkansas. Horned Frogs should have won in Fort Worth last year before late breakdowns. And Big 12 could use a win over a power five opponent. Currently, 0-2 and this weekend doesn't look great with OU at tOSU and Iowa-Iowa State.

Baby: TCU and Arkansas traditionally play good games. I expect this time to be no different.

Bell: Predictions?

Baby: I'll take TCU 30, Arkansas 27 in overtime.

Bell: Only one overtime? That almost seems like a letdown for a TCU-Arkansas game.

Carlton: I'll say TCU 42, Arkansas 35.

Grosbard: Give me TCU by 10. Patterson has probably been game-planning this one since last September

Bell: And how does everyone feel about this weekend's other big game with local implications: Oklahoma vs. Ohio State? The Sooners couldn't keep it competitive against the Buckeyes when they played in Norman last year. Any reason to believe this year should be different now that it's being played in Columbus?

Grosbard: No different. Urban Meyer is gonna give Lincoln Riley a few lessons on Saturday.

Carlton: Somehow I don't think Baker Mayfield will start 19 of 20 at the Horseshoe.

Bell: To be fair, Ohio State's secondary sure made Plano product Richard Lagow look pretty potent through the air last weekend. But I ultimately think the Buckeyes win by a TD or more, too.

Baby: I'll take the Buckeyes, too. They didn't look great against Indiana, but I fully expect Urban Meyer's bunch to look good against the Sooners.

Bell: That's enough for this week. Everyone stay glued to SportsDayDFW.com all week for more coverage of a wild opening weekend, and looks ahead to Week 2 matchups. Chuck will be in Austin for Texas' game this weekend, Ben will be at A&M's home opener this weekend and Adam will set up shop for this weekend's big local SMU vs. North Texas matchup.