A newcomer coach Eric Taylor finds himself helming a promising high school football team, the Dillon Panthers, that has a real chance to make it to the top.
As the team pulls together and tries to help Matt get used to his new role as quarterback after Jason's injury, Lyla offers her support to Tim. Jason learns about the extent of his injury, and Tami gets a job as the school guidance counselor.
The situation in town begins to get ugly as Coach Taylor and his family is forced to endure heat from a difficult loss against the San Marco HS Rattlers.Tim and Tyra break up after he confronts her about Smash, and Lyla, after having an argument with Jason, vents her anger onto Tim.
As the Panthers prepare for a match against the Tigers, who are their biggest rival, Jason's new roommate tries to help him understand the potential he has for recovery.Lyla tells Tim of her regrets about what happened between them, and Matt hits an all-time low.
The big game against the Tigers drawing closer, Coach Taylor must decide between Matt and the self-assured recruit Ray "Voodoo" Tatum for the starting quarterback. The feelings between Tim and Lyla grow stronger. Jason's newly-found motivation strives him to begin the rehab.
Ray Tatum faces the blame of his team mates after Panthers' win in the game last week might be overturned. Defensive tackle Bobby Reyes is arrested by the police during a practice for beating a student. Coach Taylor and Buddy Garrity are questioned by the Texas High School athletic administration.Lyla and Tim surprise Jason by taking him to the lake.
As the Panthers get ready to face the dominating Laribee Lions, the 2000 State Champ quarterback, Lucas Mize is set to join the team.Smash catches his chance to convince a college scout of his talents. A focused Tim quits drinking. Jason's suspicions of Lyla and Tim's affair grow. Tyra and Billy set up an after game homecoming party.
Julie thinks about going on a date with Matt. A discouraged Smash turns to foul play to improve his on-pitch performance. Cheered by Lyla and Tim, Jason has his first quad rugby game. A dinner turns into a fight for Coach Taylor, Tami, Riggins and his brother.
Smash continues to go the extreme to improve his performance. Rumors begin to spread about Tim and Lyla's relationship. Julie and Matt attempt to go out on a date but it is cursed from the beginning.The Panthers are in much anticipation for their upcoming game against the Gatling High.
The cheerleaders prepare for Championship Classic. Lyla is picked on when people find out about her and Riggins. Coach Taylor tries to keep Matt and Julie apart. Jason goes home after being released from rehab.
The Panthers are preparing for another game they can't lose. Matt's father comes back from Iraq but his mother's condition is difficult to take in.Tami Taylor sees Tim Riggins regarding his grades. She believes he's not doing his homework by himself and asks Landry to tutor him for his next oral exam. If he doesn't pass, he won't play in the football team.
The Panther's fate is hung up on the result of a game between two other teams and there is nothing they can do about it.Meanwhile, there is tension at the Street's house because of the lawsuit they introduced against Coach Taylor.Matt's father has a hard time adjusting back to real life.
The Panthers have only one more game to win in order to qualify for the play-offs. Smash's mother discovers something that could end his football dreams.
The Panthers prepare for their first playoff game.Coach Taylor gets distracted as he has to come up with a solution to Smash's use of drugs. Tyra and Julie befriend while Riggins bonds with his alienated father.Buddy learns about Jason and Lyla's engagement.
The Panthers savor their crucial playoff-win-until race issues emerge and sorely test their bond after Mac makes racial statements.Tami frowns upon Julie's newfound friendship with Tyra. The girls play a powder-puff football game.
Due to racial comments from Coach Mac, the black players on the team refuse to play unless he is sacked.Julie is sucked deeper into the vortex as her friendship with Tyra develops. Matt tries to win Julie back.
After Julie reveals to Matt that she wants to have sex with him, Matt feels the need to put together something special. Tim clashes with his father.The Panthers are into the next round of the playoffs and looking solid.
Lyla makes a surprise visit to the quad rugby camp where Jason is playing at, but she doesn't find the comfort she came looking for.Buddy Garrity's affair with Tyra's mother comes out. Consequently, Buddy decides to move in with the Taylors.Smash becomes suspicious about Waverly when she goes for a midnight swim with him.
With TMU trying to recruit Coach Taylor, Julie insists that she will not be moved away from Matt and Dillon. The quad rugby recruiters in Austin deliver some bad news to Jason. Riggins becomes friends with a single mother and her son.
A chemical spill near Dillon High School forces Coach Taylor and the Panthers to seek another facility in which to play the crucial State Semi-Final game.
Coach Taylor buckles under the pressure from Texas Methodist University. The news of his decision is not taken lightly by his family. Riggins faces the impending consequences of his relationship. Landry wonders whether he should tell someone about Tyra's situation.
The rumors about Coach Taylor leaving the team at the end of the season get a boost when an inside source decides to speak up. Meanwhile, the Panthers are preparing themselves for the state championship.
Changes in the team force Dillon Panthers to work harder than ever before to achieve the same level of success they had last season. Losing Coach Taylor to TMU might prove to be their biggest setback. Tyra gets a shock visitor. Matt and Landry struggle with their everyday life, as it is not what they expected.
So many things have changed at Dillon High and the first day of school is the real test. Matt stands by as his world comes crashing down, while Landry still copes to make sense of his. All eyes seem to be focusing on Smash, while Tami tries to adjust to having a teenager and a newborn.
Matt and Smash have a hard time listening to their coach as they prepare for their first game of the new season. Coach Taylor heads back to Dillon to check on his family and finds out just what is happening to the Panthers since he's left.
Tim and Jason go to Mexico as Street hopes to explore experimental surgery. Riggins, who is worried about Street, turns to Lyla Garrity, who's busy helping a newcomer acclimate to Dillon. Meanwhile, Coach Taylor decides on a big career move that will change his life. A development in a police search deeply affects the lives of Tyra and Landry.
Coach Taylor returns to Dillon, but it is not an easy homecoming; the team must deal with conflict between Saracen and Smash; Riggins turns to Lyla for help in changing Street's mind about surgery.
Key evidence comes in implicating Landry; when Tami's sister visits to help her with the baby, she stirs things up in the house; Riggins must prove to coach Taylor that he wants to be a part of the team.
As college football scouts approach Smash, he must make a life-changing decision. Coach Taylor has set his sights on a potential addition to the team. Tami appoints Lyla and Tyra to be in charge of this year's Pantherama. Matt is living his dream, with his new cheerleader girlfriend by his side, but yet he is drawn to the live-in nurse. Julie turns her jealousy into a twisted relationship.
As Smash sets out on his first recruitment trip, Saracen asks his cheerleader girlfriend for an open relationship.
Landry admits to the murder of Tyra’s assaulter but the struggle with his conscience continues. Meanwhile Jason Street is set up with an online dating service by Herc. The Taylors get ready for baby Gracie’s christening, while tensions increase between Tami and Julie.
Dillon County is hit by a tornado with Laribee High School affected by the damage forcing both rivals to share Dillon's resources. Julie and Tami adjust to Tim Riggins' living in their house, and tension builds between Landry and Tyra.
Brian "Smash" Williams takes heat from the major colleges that want a verbal commitment to their program. Meanwhile tension is still high between Coach Taylor and Tim Riggins regarding the situation with Julie. Tim doesn't know where to turn. And all eyes are on Coach Taylor as he prepares the Panthers to play Laribee High School in the season's biggest game.
Tami and Coach Taylor look into day care for Gracie, but find themselves having a tough time letting go. Meanwhile, Lyla starts working as a deejay on a Christian radio station and, despite being ridiculed by Tim Riggins, she is able to strike a chord with him. Elsewhere, Matt Saracen discovers that he is actually in love with his grandma's at-home nurse, while Brian "Smash" Williams learns that those close to him may not be ready for interracial dating.
Coach Taylor hires Tami as the girls volleyball coach and enlists the help of Tyra. Smash has a confrontation at a movie theater and is faced with a dilemma.
Matt Saracen reaches at his lowest point. Meanwhile, Tami Taylor’s relationship continues to blossom with Tyra. Julie becomes envious. Landry has an admirer. Elsewhere, Smash seeks advice from Coach Taylor.
Smash's hunt for a college football scholarship turns into something completely different. Tami comes across her high school boyfriend, whose job as a real estate magnate has brought him to Dillon, making Coach Taylor jealous. Jason is offered a life-changing opportunity. Riggins goes after Lyla this time using more unconventional methods.
