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
Photo by Getty Images
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.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!