NCAA REWIND

Saturday NCAA football recap: A&M wins big; Houston is still a mess; Joe Burrow keeps making history

Kellen Mond
Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Can we start calling Joe Burrow "Superman" yet? Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:

SMU 34, Houston 31

The Cougars offense really stunk it up when they faced 16th-ranked SMU in Houston on Thursday night. In all fairness, it was primarily the Houston offense that played horribly, committing three turnovers and 11 penalties for 129 yards. The Cougars also fumbled the ball five times, losing the ball twice. "We lost the turnover battle 3-1," Holgorsen said. "I can deal with that if they weren't bad turnovers. Two of them were bad turnovers. The second thing is that -- what is it three times -- we got into the red zone and had to kick field goals. That's not a winning performance either." SMU quarterback Shane Buechele finished 20-for-30 with 203 yards passing and two touchdowns, leading the Mustangs to a 34-31 victory. SMU improved to 8-0 for the first time since starting 10-0 in 1982, and improved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 1986. Houston quarterback Clayton Tune finished 18-of-35 and threw for a career-high 407 yards and two touchdowns. Houston is on the road against UCF on Nov. 2.

LSU 23, Auburn 20

It's a bird… It's a plane… It's Joe-freakin'-Burrow! After taking a hit that sent him flying into the Auburn bench, Burrow immediately jumped up and trotted back to the line of scrimmage to resume his school-record eighth career 300-yard passing performance. Superman… I mean, Burrow, threw for 321 yards and a touchdown, ran for 47 yards and another score, and second-ranked LSU edged No. 9 Auburn 23-20 on Saturday. "If your quarterback shows toughness like that, it can kind of get your team going," Burrow said. "If you lay down on the field and don't hop right back up, it shows your team that you are not really into it." Previously, LSU had not scored fewer than 36 points in a game, but Auburn's locked in defense put pressure on Burrow, sacking him three times. "It was a gut check tonight," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said, praising the way his players stuck together. "They didn't want to be denied." I would be remiss if I didn't mention LSU's defense, which sacked Auburn quarterback Bo Nix three times and held his completion percentage to below 50 percent. "When our defense plays like that, nobody is going to beat us," Burrow said. LSU is off next week before facing off with No.1 Alabama in early November.

TCU 37, Texas 27

Freshman TCU quarterback Max Duggan was exactly what TCU needed on Saturday, throwing for a career-high 273 yards, leading the Horned Frogs to a 37-27 victory over No. 15 Texas. Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw a career-high four interceptions, the first three of which led to 13 TCU points. Duggan, who entered the game with the lowest quarterback efficiency rating, finished with a team-high 72 yards rushing and helped TCU bounce back from consecutive conference losses. "They did a great job in coverage," Ehlinger said. "They got an experienced secondary. They didn't do anything exotic or cut anybody loose. They did a good job of bringing pressure but also being balanced and making it difficult for our guys to get open." Ehlinger was 27-of-48 for 321 yards passing and two touchdowns. I suspect the Longhorns will drop out of the Top 25 after suffering three losses , two of which came in the past three weeks. TCU is at Oklahoma State next Saturday and Texas has a week off to hopefully do some soul searching before hosting Kansas State Nov. 9.

Texas A&M 49, Mississippi State 30

Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond threw for 234 yards and racked up five touchdowns, leading the Aggies to a 39-30 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was particularly proud of his team's ability to score touchdowns on each of Mississippi State's three turnovers. "You learn to feed off each other, that's what sports is about," Fisher said. "We capitalized today." Mond had scoring runs of 1 and 12 yards and threw touchdown passes of 16, 19 and 52 yards. The Aggies host Texas-San Antonio next Saturday.

 Kansas 37, Texas Tech 34

Kansas overcame an early three possession deficit and the ejection of their team captain Bryce Tornedon for targeting to beat Texas Tech 37-34 on Saturday. With two seconds left to play, Kansas kicker Liam Jones drilled the game-winning field goal for the Jayhawks. "We played our hearts out," Kansas coach Les Miles said. "Early til late. Down to the wire. Final drive. They won a game." Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey connected on 23-of-34 attempts for 271 yards passing. The Red Raiders have a bye week after which they'll face West Virginia on Nov. 9.

Arkansas State 38, Texas State 14

Arkansas State quarterback Marcel Murray ran 22 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns to help the Red Wolves beat Texas State 38-14 on Saturday night. Texas State quarterback Tyler Vitt completed 15-of-27 passes for 146 yards-passing, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bobcats.

Southern Mississippi 20, Rice 6

The Owls were held to only 8 yards rushing and 131 in the air as Southern Mississippi destroyed Rice 20-6 on Saturday. The Golden Eagles had a season-high eight sacks, led by Jacques Turner with 3 1/2.

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Anthony Santander has reportedly lowered his asking price. Composite Getty Image.

As we begin another week of MLB free agency, we still haven't seen any movement when it comes to Alex Bregman. Several reports are indicating that the market for Bregman is being impacted by Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander.

The thought being, Santander is expected to command less than Bregman, and teams are waiting to see how his market shakes out before making an offer to Breggy.

Which is interesting, because we're seeing reports about Santander softening his stance on demanding a four or five year deal. It appears he's willing to consider a shorter contract with a high yearly salary.

If that is indeed the case, should the Astros consider moving some salary if they can come to an agreement on a short-term deal with Santander?

In theory, trading Pressly's $14 million contract along with Victor Caratini's $6 million dollar deal could allow them to pay Santander $20 million. Of course finding a club to take on all of Pressly's money may not be realistic, but if they could pull it off, should they do it?

This move would weaken the bullpen and the depth at catcher, but the team still has Caesar Salazar to back up Yainer Diaz. And both Pressly and Caratini aren't likely to be back with the Astros anyway after their contracts expire after the 2025 season.

Should we be worried about the Rangers?

MLB Network's Robert Flores (huge Astros fan) joined the Locked on Astros YouTube channel last week and said he likes the Rangers chances to win the AL West this year, despite Vegas giving Houston better odds to win the World Series. Does he have a point?

Farewell to Justin Verlander

Verlander signed a one-year deal with the Giants last week, so it appears he's played his last game in an Astros uniform. But should we close the door on him being traded to Houston again if the 'Stros need another starter and the Giants are looking to move him at the deadline?

Plus, we share some of our favorite Verlander moments from the team's dynastic run!

Be sure to watch the video above as the guys from Stone Cold 'Stros break it all down! And be sure to share your favorite Verlander memories in the comment section on YouTube.


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