NCAA REWIND

Saturday NCAA football recap: Big wins for Texas, Tech, Baylor, LSU in Week 6

Saturday NCAA football recap: Big wins for Texas, Tech, Baylor, LSU in Week 6
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Texas gets revenge on the road, Tech bounces back after humiliation, and Joe Burrow sets LSU passing record. Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:

​Texas 42, West Virginia 31

Last year West Virginia players left several Texas players upset after flashing the "horns down" sign during West Virginia's 42-41 win at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Although Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger insists he had put aside the defiant celebration of Mountaineers on his home field last year, he got his payback, leading the No. 11 Longhorns to a 42-31 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Ehlinger finished 18-of-33 for 211 yards passing and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Roschon Johnson finished with career highs on 121 yards on 21 carries for the Longhorns. The Texas defense came up clutch for a team whose offense got off to a rough start. West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall was intercepted four times, twice by cornerback D'Shawn Jamison. It's possible that Texas will reappear in the top 10 with the road win but I expect they will at least hold their 11th position on the poll. The Longhorns face off with the Sooners next Saturday in Dallas.

​LSU 42, Utah State 6

Joe. Burrow. This kid is undeniably talented but what really strikes me is the LSU quarterback's relentless quest for greatness. After completing 27 of 38 passes for 344 yards, becoming the first LSU quarterback to stack 300 yards passing in four consecutive games, Burrow seemed unimpressed with his latest performance. "Last year, we would have been very happy," Burrow said. "But this is a new team and a new offense. Things have changed around here when you are not happy with this performance." Burrow was intercepted once on a deflected pass against Utah State before being replaced by Myles Brennan early in the fourth quarter due to a lopsided score. Burrow also rushed for 42 yards and another score. Despite only finishing one fourth quarter this season, Burrow has a 78.3 percent pass completion rate for 1,864 yards and 22 touchdowns. LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season helping the fourth-ranked Tigers rout Utah State 42-6 on Saturday to remain undefeated. LSU's injury-riddled defense also showed no signs of slowing down, intercepting Aggie quarterback Jordan Love three times, including a mystifying pick by freshman cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. which set the Tigers up for a 99-yard scoring drive. LSU's point total was a season low which coach Ed Orgeron says was intentional to allow its defense to rest before getting into the meat of their season next week. "It wasn't as fun, but it worked," Orgeron said. "This game was methodical. We were chewing up clock." Three of the Tiger's next four games are against teams that spent the past week ranked in the top 10: No. 10 Florida, No. 7 Auburn and No. 1 Alabama. Expect the Tigers to hold their position in the AP Top 25 poll after easily handling Utah State. LSU is home against Florida next Saturday.

Texas Tech 45, Oklahoma State 35

In his first start of the season, quarterback Jett Duffey completed 26 of 44 passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns, ran for a score and avoided turnovers (which plagued him in the past), leading the Red Raiders to a much needed 45-35 upset over No. 21 Oklahoma State on Saturday. Coming off a humiliating 55-16 loss at Oklahoma two weeks ago, the Red Raiders built a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter and never stopped fighting. "This was a tough week. It was an emotional week," Texas Tech coach Matt Wells said. "Nobody was very happy about the way we played last week. I thought they responded. Tremendous amount of guts." The Red Raider defense forced three interceptions and two fumbles by redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders. Safety Douglas Coleman III snatched two interceptions for the Red Raiders, bringing him to five in five games this season. "We had to show the world, like, we can play defense at Texas Tech," Coleman said. "I think it was a big statement we had to prove." Texas Tech heads to Baylor next week for its first trip to Waco in 12 years.

Iowa State 49, TCU 24

Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and ran 102 yards for two more scores, overwhelming the Horned Frogs defense and leading the Cyclones to a 49-24 victory for their first Big 12 win of the season. "I think Brock is really special. I don't know if I have any different feeling for the words I can use for to describe Brock," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. "He's a guy who gives us an ability (as) a dual threat football player." Freshman quarterback Max Duggan finished 17 for 25 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns for the Horned Frogs. TCU is off next week and plays at Kansas State on Oct. 19.

Baylor 31, Kansas State 12

Bad Baylor surprised me again, beating Kansas State 31-12 on Saturday. The victory extends the Bears undefeated record to 5-0 and marks Baylor's first conference road win since beating Kansas in 2017. "I'm really proud of our guys because this is a tough place to play with a great crowd," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "I thought our guys battled early, found a way to get a halftime lead and then grounded it out in the second half." Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer led his team with 230 yards passing and one touchdown, but left the game early in the fourth quarter with an injury and did not return. Running back John Lovett rushed for two touchdowns for the Bears, one of which came on a 46-yard run late in the fourth quarter to seal the Wildcat's fate. Baylor returns home to face Texas Tech next Saturday.

UAB 35, Rice 20

Quarterback Tyler Johnston III threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns and running back Lucious Stanley ran for two scores, leading UAB to a 35-20 win over Rice on Saturday. The Owls have lost 17 of their last 18 games dating back to last season. Rice is off next week and plays at UTSA on Oct. 19.

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The Astros host the Giants Monday night. Composite Getty Image.

Coming off the opening series win over the Mets, there's a lot for the Astros to be excited about. The starting pitching led the way in all three games, and Houston's high-leverage relievers delivered when it mattered most.

Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader closed the door on the Mets in games 1 and 3. Bryan King has also looked impressive, and it appears he'll be counted on in the seventh inning to hand the lead to Abreu and then Hader.

If Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski can deliver consistent performances similar to the other starters, the Astros will have one of the most feared rotations in baseball.

Plus, more help could be on the way with Lance McCullers making another step in his rehab pitching for Sugar Land over the weekend.

As good as the pitching has been, there are some legitimate concerns about the offense. Their struggles to hit with runners in scoring position in 2024 are still an issue through the first series of 2025.

Newcomers Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker have yet to do much with the bat, and the only extra-base hits this season (2) have come from Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez.

As far as the learning curve in the outfield, Jose Altuve and Cam Smith are off to a decent start. And despite the shakeup at second base, the team is still getting zero production from Mauricio Dubon and Brendan Rodgers.

It appears Joe Espada's plan in the Mets series was to get everyone some playing time, which seems like a smart strategy early in the season. However, the game plan didn't pay off on Saturday, with Zach Dezenzo, Victor Caratini, and Dubon combining for zero hits.

Polarizing bats

Finally, how are we feeling about the Torpedo bats sweeping the league?

While the Yankees aren't the only team with players sporting these new sticks, their results have been the talk of MLB with the Bronx Bombers mashing 15 dingers over just three games.

With the Astros sitting at one homer on the season, why not give them a try? One thing is for sure, don't be surprised if players opt to use these new bats to break out of a slump at some point this season.

We have so much more to cover. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! 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 live right after the game. Click here to catch!


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