The best: Texas, and it is improving just in the nick of time to keep the posse off coach John Mackovic’s back. The Longhorns haven’t been to a bowl in either of Mackovic’s two seasons in Austin. Shea Morenz is probably the league’s best quarterback, though that might not be saying much.
The rest: The Southwest Conference, which began in 1915, enters its penultimate season in 1994. Seven of its members are scattering to join the expanded WAC and Big Eight, while Houston is looking for a new home. Texas A&M is ineligible for the title after being nailed with a five-year probation for breaking rules. Baylor is improved. The rest of the league: Don’t bother. The SWC may well see a repeat of 1993, when it could not produce three teams with enough Division I-A victories to qualify for postseason play.
Key game: Texas at Texas A&M, Nov. 5.
Fast fact: Texas hasn’t been shut out in 152 games, the longest streak in Southwest Conference history and second in the nation to Brigham Young, which has scored in 238 games in a row.
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The picks: 1. Texas; 2. Baylor; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Texas Tech; 5. Texas Christian; 6. Rice; 7. Southern Methodist; 8. Houston.