FALCON POINTS
Out-of-nowhere Baylor-Houston football matchup gives fans an unexpected surprise
Sep 17, 2020, 6:54 am
FALCON POINTS
The college football season is off and running with some fits and starts. The Covid-19 crisis has caused cancellations, postponements and difficulties of all kinds.
But one positive is the unexpected matchup we will get this weekend when Houston plays at Baylor.
Houston's Friday night opener against Memphis was postponed when multiple Memphis players tested positive. Baylor faced the same situation with Louisiana Tech. The result? Both schools worked out a deal to play on Saturday in a nationally televised game. It will be a good test for the Bears, who break in a new coach with Dave Aranda. And for UH, it will also be a test to see where Dana Holgorsen's program is in year No. 2 against a Power Five opponent.
The schools were rivals in the Southwest Conference, but have not played since 1995. They were also linked by Art Briles, who began his career at UH and then went to Baylor, where he brought unprecedented success on the field and shame off of it.
The Bears have a new coaching staff, with Matt Rhule bailing for the NFL after competing for the Big 12 title. Dave Aranda won a national championship as defensive coordinator at LSU last season, and he brings veteran OC Larry Fedora, an offensive mind who was head coach at both Southern Miss and North Carolina. It is Aranda's first head coaching job, so it is hard to say how the Bears will look, but you can expect them to be defense-oriented. The offense returns four starters on the offensive line, a group that struggled last season, and quarterback Charlie Brewer. Top receiving threat Denzel Mims is gone to the NFL, but the Bears still have talent.
Defensively, they lost nine starters off what was a stellar group, so Aranda and DC Ron Roberts have their work cut out for them. Roberts was DC at Louisiana last season.
The Cougars return a lot of solid talent on offense, and if Clayton Tune can take a step in Year 2 and throw fewer interceptions, the offense should be pretty good. Last season was one of the rare years when Holgorsen didn't have a solid offense. Their top five WRs from last season return, as does four of the five starters on the offensive line. They also bring back a solid 1-2 punch at running back in Kyle Porter and Mulbah Carr. The defense was a disaster last year, but they return 16 of 17 of their top tacklers, and mix in several transfers. The experience they got last season should make a big difference. Baylor is a seven-point favorite and the over/under is 60.
It's a fun, unexpected matchup. It's nice to see schools work together to make something like this happen, because in the RonaVerse, it will probably be an ongoing thing. It's rare to see a game come together one week out, but it makes sense for both teams.
It also gives the fans a nice surprise and something to look forward to this weekend.
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?