Following an opening night forfeit, Coach Taylor struggles to regain the support of his new team. Coach & Mrs Taylor weather a maelstrom when the star running back of the Dillon Panthers is outed as an East Dillon resident. Tim Riggins struggles to find a new living arrangement. Matt struggles with an internship with an abrasive local artist. Landry runs into an interesting girl at his new school.

Just as the East Dillon Lions start to perform as a team, the town of Dillon is rocked with the news of the death of Matt's dad. Coach & Mrs Taylor and Julie all do their part to help Matt weather the storm. Landry & Riggins & the rest all rally to help as well but ultimately Matt must make peace with his dad on his own. Meanwhile Becky connects with Luke after he's been paint-balled by some of his former friends and the two finally...

Craziness comes to East Dillon when their scheduled football game against the undefeated McNulty team means that the game will be televised. Meanwhile Lyla remains in Dillon after the funeral and she and Tim reconnect. Julie goes AWOL to a music festival in Austin in hopes of cheering Matt up. Following their first kiss, Landry confesses to Jess that he may still not be completely over Tyra.

Julie mourns the end of her relationship with Matt. Luke's family commitments interfere with his football. Becky's dad returns from a road-trip with a secret. The police stop by the school in response to an anonymous tip to search Vince's locker for a gun. Mindy's maternity gets more expensive than Billy was prepared for and the Landing Strip girls throw a fund-raiser. Tammy's staff celebrates an academic award with a karaoke night and Glenn goes a bit too far.

When East Dillon and the only other winless team in the district face off, locals term it the "Toilet Bowl." This conflicts with Coach's and Buddy's attempts to get play-by-play coverage from a local radio station. Meanwhile, Julie & Mrs. Taylor visit her old alma mater. Landry tries to convince Jess that he's completely over Tryra and that they should date. Vince's mom invites Jess to dinner with her and her son. Tim Riggins helps Luke get pain meds following an injury on the ranch without letting Coach Taylor know. Riggins also discovers that his brother Billy has been running a chop shop operation on the side to make extra money and when Tim's more legitimate attempts at landing a job fall through he considers joining him.

Riggins takes Becky to Mrs. Taylor for advice about her unwanted pregnancy. Vince must get his mom into rehab after she OD's. Julie invites Habitat Ryan over for dinner with her folks. Tim pressures Billy to get out of the chop shop business. Luke tells his parents that he's gotten Becky pregnant. Jess confronts her dad about his supporting her and her brothers in football related activities.

Luke Cafferty's mom raises a ruckus and wants Mrs. Taylor fired for her role in the aborting of her grandson. Landry and his folks invite Jess over for a rather awkward dinner. Julie reacts badly when Matt finally calls her to say he misses her. Luke becomes more and more dependent on pain pills and continues to hide his injury from everyone until it results in a crisis. Vince gets in deeper with the neighborhood thugs after borrowing money from them to get his mom into rehab. Mrs. Sproles comes onto Tim after a celebratory dinner then reacts badly when she finds him in a questionable situation with her daughter.

Jess confides to Landry that she has feelings for Vince. Thanksgiving arrives, the day before the big game finds the Taylors playing host to an extended family dinner. The Riggins are there including the newest Riggins. Matt's back from Chicago. Buddy is bringing his own turkey to deep fry. Then on Friday, The lions meet the Panthers on the Panther's home field but they're a tougher team than anticipated. It all comes down to Landry can he make a 45 yard field goal and win the game?

Julie starts her college classes and meets an interesting teaching assistant. Tammy Taylor has trouble fitting in with the East Dillon teaching staff. Luke Cafferty's tackle from the last game is questioned. Coach Taylor finds that he's now on the outside and set a new goal. Jess and Vince hit a bump in their relationship.

Vince's dad gets out on parole. A video of Maura drunk at the party with several Lions team members gets posted on the Internet. Mrs Taylor tries to take corrective action during school hours and Coach Taylor tries to get the team members back on track. Meanwhile Julie's flirtation with her history TA gets more serious.

Becky's dad returns to town, Buddy Jr. comes to stay with his dad, and Vince confronts his father about the drugs in his past. Meanwhile, Jess and Vince squabble about her being the team's equipment manager. Luke gets an invite to visit TMU and bring a few friends.

Rather than return to college where she's been humiliated, Julie wrecks her car. As the truth comes out, Coach Taylor is thrown, so much so that he leaves a practice early. Meanwhile Vince's past friend is pressuring him to repay the money that he borrowed. Luke reacts badly to the information that TMU recruiters were using him to get to Vince. Billy Riggins gets to step up for a locker-room speech when Coach is late. Vinces dad steps in to help out his son and Mindy tells Becky that she needs to get laid to get her mind off Tim Riggins and even suggests the farm-boy to do it with.

It's cross-town rivalry week again in Dillon and things get heated when an anti-Lion website appears highlighting the boys' juvenile records. Coach Taylor is concerned when Vince's dad gets more involved in his college recruitment prospects. Billy Riggins works privately with Luke and gets him pumped up for the game but gives him one or two pieces of bad advice. Meanwhile Julie is still hiding out at home and Tami goes up to her school to collect her schoolwork.

Between a potential head coaching position at a Florida College, Julie's continuing stay at home, the team's growing disharmony over Vince's show-boat behavior and the interference of Vince's Dad, Coach Taylor has a rough week. Becky enters a pageant with the support of the Landing Strip girls and begins to question her decisions. Julie's T.A. Derek shows up in Dillon. Tami Taylor learns that not everything Epyck tells her is reliable.

Following a contentious loss, Coach Taylor decides to bench Vince for a game and start Luke at QB. Becky and Luke try to start their relationship over but the Seniors recognition night scheduled for Friday's game makes that difficult. Julie continues her hiatus from school and visits Matt in Chicago. Epyck crosses a line during a tutoring session with Mrs. Taylor.

Coach's offer from a Florida college becomes public knowledge. Tim Riggins parole hearing date approaches and Billy asks Coach Taylor to be a character witness. Luke considers what comes after high school if he gets no scholarship offers. Vince tries to get back in coach's good graces after last week's benching but his dad makes it difficult.

The East Dillon Lion's march toward State continues amid Coach Taylor & Principal Burnwell's concerns about impending budget cuts. Tami gets an opportunity to interview with the admissions department of a prestigious Pennsylvania university. Tim Riggins finds acclimating to the busy Riggins' household difficult following his release on parole. Vince and his mom are worried as Vince's dad seems to be returning to his old ways.

With the decision to close the East Dillon Football program speculation runs wild on two fronts. Will the Lions be able to win State and go out in a blaze of glory; and will Coach Taylor agree to return to coach the Dillion Panthers and a super team with the best of both schools? Tami's PA job offer adds conflict in the Taylor home as does a new development with Matt & Julie. Meanwhile Tim Riggins and Tyra talk seriously about their futures and Luke & Becky clear the air.