With the Argyle Eagles football team taking a rest with a Bye week this weekend, students are instead looking forward to the intrastate NFL rivalry taking place between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans this Sunday at noon. Though the students always think Argyle football first, there is a large Dallas Cowboys fan base in the school.

A lot of the students have grown up in Texas, so they and their families have been fans of the team for a long time.

“I bleed blue,” senior Tanner Watson said. “I was born in Arlington so that is definitely my team.”

For those that don’t follow the team, the Cowboys have started off the season with a 3-1 record, including an impressive 38-17 win over the New Orleans Saints last weekend. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans also boast a 3-1 record on the back of All Pro DE J.J. Watt and RB Arian Foster.

“I think they’ll do pretty decently,” senior Jackson Hart said. “They’ll win but it’ll be a tough game.”

The Cowboys have enjoyed success this season offensively due to the dominance of RB DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing. But facing a top ranked defensive line, students think that QB Tony Romo could be the difference in this week’s game.

“Tony Romo is doing amazing,” senior Justin Nathan said. “He’s gotten good at clock management and being able to make everything from check downs to deep passes when the team needs him to. He’s not forcing the ball like he did during the first game, and that’s made all the difference.”

Not all Argyle students are huge NFL fans, and there is an even larger group of students that only watch the NFL periodically, but there are still students who are die hard fans of the team and can provide great insight into the matchup.

“I believe that their defense can contain (Houston QB) Ryan Fitzpatrick,” Nathan said. “Eventually they’ll stop receivers Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins. Their offense, if they continue to feed Murray the ball, can be dominant. Houston is good but if they can block Watt and (LB) Brian Cushing the Texans defense is marginal at best.”

Of those polled, 81.25% of students want the Cowboys to win, and 75% of students believe that they will win. Las Vegas has the Cowboys as a solid 6 point favorite, which backs the polls provided by students.

“”I believe students want Dallas to win,” Nathan said. “Some of them don’t care because they’re in high school, but those that watch the NFL are rooting for the Cowboys.”