THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT

Weekend NCAA football recap: Big wins for Texas and LSU, more disappointment from Houston

Ed Orgeron
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Orgeron's explosive offense is only getting better and Herman's defense is laser-focused. Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:

Tulane 38, Houston 31

Houston blew a 21 point lead and the Green Wave rallied to a 38-31 victory Thursday night. Week after week, the Cougars further solidify my lack of faith in their ability to secure the win in the second half. Houston was off to a spectacular start; 17 seconds into the opening drive, D'Eriq King dropped a dime to Marquez Stevenson for a 75-yard touchdown. King threw for 229 yards, two touchdowns and ran for another score, breaking the FBS record for going 15-straight games with both a running and a passing touchdown. Keep in mind all of that explosiveness was overshadowed by a lackluster performance from the Cougars in the second half in which their only score was a made field goal by Dalton Witherspoon. Tulane receiver Jalen McCleskey scored on a 53-yard catch-and-run with three seconds left to seal the win for the Green Wave. McClesky finished with four catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns for Tulane. Green Wave quarterback Justin McMillan had 7-of-20 completed passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Houston is on the road against North Texas next Saturday night.

Auburn 28, Texas A&M 20

Although freshman quarterback Bo Nix did not put up flashy numbers for Auburn on Saturday, he didn't make any big mistakes in his first true road game and Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was pleased with his performance. "He's got something special to him," Malzahn said of Nix. "He's not your normal freshman. We knew that when we recruited him. One thing that I like is the moment ain't too big for him." Nix threw a touchdown pass and Ja'Tarvious Whitlow rushed for a score, helping No. 8 Auburn build an early lead and withstand a late surge from Texas A&M to get a 28-20 win over the 17th-ranked Aggies. Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond cut the lead to 21-10 with his first scoring pass early in the fourth quarter before Auburn added a rushing touchdown. Mond hit Ainias Smith with a 15-yard TD pass with just over two minutes left but Auburn recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock. Mond finished with 335 yards passing but the Aggie's running game was held to just 56 yards. Auburn is expected to maintain its poll position but the Aggies will most certainly plummet in the poll or fall out altogether after the home loss. Texas A&M meets Arkansas in Cowboys Stadium next Saturday.

LSU 66, Vanderbilt 38

The fourth-ranked Tigers aggressive style offense is making waves around the nation and paying off for LSU in a major way. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow threw a school-record six touchdown passes and 398 yards, leading the undefeated Tigers to a 66-38 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Tigers scored their most points this season and the most ever in regulation against an SEC opponent. Burrow once again capitalized on the highlight reel opportunity, becoming the first LSU quarterback to throw for 350 yards or more in three consecutive games. His 357 passing yards before halftime also was the most in school history. "It's good," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. "I think that there's more to come. I really do. I think Joe is a fantastic player. He has a fantastic coach in [offensive coordinator] Steve Ensminger. We have a great plan, and as long as we protect the quarterback we're going to make big plays here at LSU." Burrow finished 25-of-34 before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter, marking the third time he has been subbed out early due to a lopsided score this season. The star quarterback is now 100-of-124 passing (80% completion) for 1,520 yards and 17 touchdowns in LSU's first four games. Four of Burrow's six TD passes went to receiver Ja'Marr Chase. The sophomore made TD grabs of 64, 25 and 51 yards in the first quarter, adding a 16-yarder in the third. Chase finished with 10 receptions for 229 yards, the most by an LSU receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2013. Expect LSU to hold their position within the top five based on the Tigers final victory margin. LSU is off next week before hosting Utah State on Oct. 5.

Texas 36, Oklahoma State 30

Sam Ehlinger threw four touchdowns for the third time this season and the No. 12 Longhorns' defense held Oklahoma State in check for most of the game to tough out a 36-30 victory Saturday night to open Big 12 play. The Longhorns' defense was locked in, holding OKST's Chuba Hubbard, the nation's leading rusher, to just 121 yards on 37 carries and two scores. Tylan Wallace, who tied for the national receiving lead with six touchdowns, was scoreless against the Longhorns and only had two receptions in the second half for the Cowboys. "The two guys were really hard to stop, I thought we did an admirable job of it", Texas coach Tom Herman said. "That's about as good as you're going to do against those two guys. ...We gave up big plays but bowed our backs when our back was against the wall." Ehlinger finished 20-of-28 with 281 yards passing. OKST coach Mike Gundy will likely feel some heat about decisions that cost the Cowboys valuable points. If OKST kicker Matt Ammendola had been allowed to kick his fourth and fifth field goals of the game, the Cowboys would have been tied after Hubbard's late score. Texas has a bye week next weekend, giving the battered Longhorns some much-needed time to heal bumps and bruises. Look for Texas to move up in the poll as No.7 Notre Dame, No. 10 Utah, and No. 11 Michigan all lost. Texas visits West Virginia on Oct. 5.

SMU 41, TCU 38

SMU quarterback Shane Buechele was 23-of-34 passing for 288 yards with two touchdowns and ran for another score, as SMU held off No. 25 TCU for a 41-38 victory on Saturday, snapping a 7-game losing streak in the 99th meeting between the schools. TCU quarterback Max Duggan finished 16-of-36 for 188 yards passing and three touchdowns. Veteran running back Xavier Jones ran for 79 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, and caught a 3-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to put the Mustangs up 38-24. "It's a simple thing. We got outplayed. We got outcoached," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. TCU will fall out of the top 25, a week after getting ranked. The Horned Frogs host Kansas next Saturday to open Big 12 Conference play.

Baylor 21, Rice 13

Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 303 yards and a touchdown, leading Baylor to a close 21-13 win over Rice on Saturday. "I believe this with all my heart -- we needed that game," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "We needed that experience." Baylor receiver Chris Platt finished with five receptions for 85 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown pass from Brewer with five minutes left in the second quarter. The Owls had the ball and a chance to tie with three minutes left to play but two sacks ended the drive. Rice's band played the Village People's "YMCA" as dozens of students rushed the field donning rainbow flags during halftime. A Baylor spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle the school's administration declined earlier this month to officially recognize an LGBTQ -student group on campus. Baylor hosts Iowa State on Saturday to open Big 12-Play.

Texas State 37, Georgia State 34

Joshua Rowland kicked a 35-yard field goal for Texas State and the Bobcats snapped Georgia State 37-34 in a triple-overtime nail-biter to open Sun Belt Conference play Saturday night. Quarterback Gresh Jenson completed 16-of-24 for Texas State.

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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