Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State:
Saturday NCAA Football Recap: Baylor remains undefeated; Houston still doesn’t know which way is up
Nov 3, 2019, 12:32 pm
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UCF 44, Houston 29
My annoyance with Dana Holgorsen know no bounds. The Cougars have only won three games this season and it's starting to feel like Holgorsen is attempting to introduce tanking to college football. But the gag is, the only thing a 3-5 record gets you in college football is bad recruits. I digress. Houston actually started off pretty well in their 29-44 loss to UCF on Saturday. The Cougars jumped out to an early 10-0 lead on Mulbah Car's 37-yard touchdown run and a 45-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon. UCF pulled away with three third-quarter touchdowns and Houston never recovered. Houston quarterback Clayton Tune finished 18-for-30 for 179 yards, one touchdown and one interception. UCF quarterback Dillion Gabriel hit 21-of-30 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Houston is off next week to hopefully do some soul-searching before hosting Memphis at home on Nov. 16.
Oklahoma State 34, TCU 27
Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard racked up 223 yards and two long touchdowns, leading the Cowboys to a 34-27 victory over a TCU team with one of the best defensive coached in college football. According to a TCU spokesperson, Hubbard became the first player to rush for at least 200 yards against TCU in Gary Patterson's 19-year run as head coach. "When Chuba gets through there, nobody can catch him," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "That makes him different than other players." OKST quarterback Spencer Sanders threw for 158 yards and two touchdown passes to Dillon Stoner who finished with three receptions and 93 yards for the Cowboys, who became bowl eligible for the 14th straight year. The Horned Frogs entered the day allowing just 103.7 yards rushing per game but surrendered 307 on Saturday. TCU hosts an undefeated Baylor on Saturday.
Texas A&M 45, UTSA 14
The Aggies fell behind early on Saturday against UTSA and needed a spark to bounce back and secure the victory. Isiah Spiller was the match that lit the flame for Texas A&M. The freshman running back set season highs with 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns, leading the Aggies to a demoralizing 45-14 victory over UTSA. "He was the catalyst today," Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of Spiller. "He's growing each and every day." The Aggie's win over UTSA is their third straight victory and makes them bow-eligible for the 11th-straight season. Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond threw for 211 yards, one touchdown and a one-yard touchdown in the ground to lift the Aggies to 42-7 in the fourth quarter. UTSA quarterback Lowell Narcisse threw for 90 yards passing and racked up 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground before suffering a right thumb injury early in the third quarter. The Aggies are off next week and host South Carolina on Nov. 16.
Baylor 17, West Virginia 14
Bad Baylor has come a long way from their one-win 2017 season. The 12th-ranked Bears put on a defensive showdown on Thursday night to hold off West Virginia and improve to 8-0. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense blocked a late field goal, securing Baylor's 17-14 victory over West Virginia. This marks the first time Baylor has won a game when scoring less than 20 points since 2006. "A tremendous, tremendous defensive game," coach Matt Rhule said after the 17-14 victory over West Virginia on Thursday night. "We are still learning that it's OK just to play defense and not worry." Bad Baylor is the only undefeated Big 12 team and one of eight among FBS teams. Baylor's defense may have won the game but its offensive line was all but useless, allowing Brewer to be stuffed by West Virginia eight times. The game-winning play came when Baylor nose tackle Bravvion Roy blocked Casey Legg's 48-yard field goal with 3.5 minutes left. "A lot of guys hurt in that locker room. I hurt for them," first-year Mountaineers coach Neal Brown said. "I hurt because they invested. They came up short. I don't' know if we necessarily got beat, but we came up short." Baylor travels to TCU to face the Horned Frogs next week.
Louisiana 31, Texas State 3
Running back Elijah Mitchell rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Rajin' Cajuns and Louisiana-Lafayette clobbered Texas State 31-3 on Saturday. Bobcat quarterback Tyler Vitt finished 24-of-34 for 206 yards-passing and two interceptions for Texas State.
Marshall 20, Rice 7
Isaiah Green threw for 269 yards and a touchdown and Marshall rolled to 20-7 victory over winless Rice on Saturday.
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How latest Astros events highlight serious concerns around core philosophies
May 22, 2025, 12:59 pm
Two seasons ago the Astros were oddly feeble at home and warriors on the road. Now, this season is headed nowhere if they can't pick it up away from Daikin Park. In the first week of April, the Astros won their initial road series of the season. It will be June before they win another. Well, presumably June. Approaching seven weeks since they took a series at Minnesota, it's now seven consecutive road stops without a series victory. In six straight three-game road series the Astros have lost two out of three, including at the laughingstock White Sox. They did split the four-game set in Arlington against the Rangers last weekend. The Astros’ road record is 10-15.
Now they're home for 10 in a row, starting with four versus the team the Astros look up at in the American League West standings. The Seattle Mariners hit town three and a half games ahead of the Astros. Last June, the Astros trailed the Mariners by 10 games and wound up winning the division. Expecting a sequel as good as an original usually is not a good idea. Winning this series is certainly not a necessity given the season still only reaches its one-third completed mark this coming Tuesday. Still, at least getting a split is advised, or the Astros are looking at falling five and half games off the lead should the Mariners win three out of four, seven and a half back should Seattle sweep. But flip the script. If the Astros sweep, they go to bed Sunday night leading the division. Taking three out four would be just fine, and have the Astros within a game and a half of first.
The Astros are carrying a payroll roughly 75 million dollars larger than that of the Mariners. The M’s have a farm system (currently one of the highest rated among the franchises) vastly superior to what the Astros have (one of the worst systems in the sport). So if Mariners’ ownership opted to loosen the purse strings in pursuit of in season talent infusions, the M’s are way better positioned to make an impact move than are the Astros. Just remember, even if the Mariners are going to pull away, the wild card picture does not have three teams that are obviously ultimately better than the Astros.
Positive vibes only
If you're into good luck charms, dig up a four-leaf clover or find a rabbit's foot, then cross your fingers where Ronel Blanco is concerned. It is quite an ominous sign that the Astros sent Blanco back to Houston a day early after he reported soreness in his pitching elbow. I mean, who would be surprised to hear that Blanco is done for the season a la Hayden Wesneski. It's increasingly essential that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez hold up physically and qualitatively the rest of the way. That Brown had his worst start of the season Wednesday in Tampa is no big deal. It's called being human. The Rays torching him for three home runs and five runs in five innings spiked Brown's earned run average all the way up to 2.04. Ooooh. Brown has been fantastic.
The Astros underestimated how long Spencer Arrighetti would be out. Shocking! Some boost from him seems necessary. There is only so much the Astros can reasonably hope for out of Lance McCullers, and the likes of Colton Gordon and Brandon Walter. That either Cristian Javier or Luis Garcia makes it back by, say, August is a best-case scenario. Then it would be hope about level of performance. The Astros hold no monopoly on serial pitching injuries. The Mariners have lost three-fifths of their stout starting rotation. George Kirby making his first 2025 start Thursday is a boost for them. Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller are both still out.
Heart of the matter
Among the core frustrations for Astros’ fans are the continued crummy overall performances of Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, and Yainer Diaz. If it turns out that the 35-year-old Altuve has truly fallen over the hill as opposed to just enduring an extended deep slump that would be an obvious bummer. The same with the 34-year-old Walker though there is no emotional tug for Astros’ fans with Walker as there is with Altuve. Yainer Diaz is just 26. His regression is troubling, perhaps low-lighted by his one walk in his last 33 games played, four walks for the season in 170 plate appearances. That’s pathetic. Yainer, Victor Caratini, and Astros’ pitchers have collectively done a brutal job at dealing with opposition running games. The Astros have given up 62 stolen bases in 67 attempts, with one of the five caught stealings a pickoff, another a botched double steal.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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