Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:

Saturday NCAA Football Recap: Houston finally snags a win; Baylor secures first Big 12 Championship spot

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Houston 24, Tulsa 14

Cornerback Damarion Williams gave the Cougars the lead for good with an interception return of 25 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Scoring was capped by a 94-yard kickoff return from Marquez Stevenson and Houston held off Tusla 24-14 on Saturday night. The Golden Hurricane out-gained Houston 380-231, however Houston committed one turnover compared to Tulsa's four. Houston finishes its season against Navy at home on Saturday.

LSU 56, Arkansas 20

Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for a career-high 188 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-long 89-yard touchdown run, and the Tigers mopped Arkansas 56-20 on Saturday night. "I went in and it was like, `Get the yard, get out of bounds, shut it down for the rest of the game," said Edwards-Helaire, who has 15 rushing touchdowns this season. "But that hole parted like the Red Sea." Superstar quarterback Joe Burrow was sensational, passing for 327 yards and three touchdowns. The Heisman front-runner eclipsed 4,000 yards-passing for the season on a 50-yard touchdown toss to Ja'Marr Chase in the third quarter. Burrow also hit Chase with a 37-yarder on the Tiger's first possession of the game. LSU became the first team in SEC history to have a 4,000-yard passer (Burrow), two 1,000-yard receivers (Chase and Jefferson) and a 1,000-yard rusher Edwards-Helaire in the same season. LSU looks to close out its first undefeated regular season since 2011 when it hosts Texas A&M on Saturday.

Georgia 19, Texas A&M 13

The fourth-ranked Bulldogs managed only one touchdown against the overmatched Aggies but kicker Rodrigo Blankenship booted four field goals, leading Georgia to a lackluster 19-13 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday. Georgia only managed 260 total yards of offense but the defense put on a dominating performance until the final minutes of the game when fatigue set in. "No bones about it, we've got to improve," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "There were things tonight that we missed that were there. That's the frustrating part." Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm finished 11-of-23 for 163 yards. The Aggies will face their fifth Top 10 opponent this season when they travel to Baton Rouge to battle top-ranked LSU.

 Kansas State 30, Texas Tech 27

Joshua Youngblood returned the rock 100 yards for a touchdown and Kansas State held off the Red Raiders 30-27 on Saturday. Kansas State's Skylar Thompson threw for 246 yards, two touchdowns and added another score on the ground. Jett Duffey passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns for Texas Tech which fell short of bowl eligibility. "This loss solidifying the fact that we can't make a bowl game is really heart breaking, really devastating," Texas Tech's Adrian Frye said. Texas Tech will finish out its season at Texas on Friday.

Baylor 24, Texas 10

Two years after an 11-loss season in 2017, the Bears won their home finale 24-10 over Texas on Saturday to secure a spot in their first Big 12 championship game. "I'm just really proud of the process of our players," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "That's what my whole message to our players is. ... This didn't happen tonight. It happened every morning over the last two years, 6 a.m. wakeup calls, 5 a.m. wakeup calls." Quarterback Charlie Brewer completed 16-of-25 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown for the Bears. He also added a score on the ground and 75 rushing yards on 18 carries. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger finished 22-of-37 passing for 200 yards and was sacked five times. The Longhorns have lost five games for the eighth time in 10 years. Texas hosts Texas Tech on Friday and Baylor plays its regular-season finale at Kansas of Saturday.

 Oklahoma 28, TCU 24

Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts threw touchdowns and ran for another two scores and No. 9 Oklahoma held off TCU 28-24 on Saturday night. Hurts connected on 11-of-21 passes, threw an interception that led to a touchdown and lost a fumble in the red zone. "Regardless of the fumble or the pick six or whatever mess-up I may have had today, we found a way," he said. It was an uncharacteristically mediocre game for the senior quarterback. Hurts rushed for 173 yards on 28 carries and passed for 145 yards. "One of the first games where he just missed a few throws down the field that could have really busted the thing open," Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. "And they were all just long by just a tad bit. So he was just a little bit off on some of the deep balls." TCU quarterback Max Duggan rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Horned Frogs. Kennedy Brooks added 149 yards for the Sooners and CeeDee Lamb caught his 32nd career touchdown pass to move into second place on Oklahoma's career list. TCU hosts West Virginia next week.

Appalachian State 35, Texas State 13

Tailback Darrynton Evans ran for 154 yards and three second-half touchdowns, leading the No. 24 Appalachian State to a 35-13 victory over Texas State on Saturday. Quarterback Tyler Vitt threw for 154 yards and a touchdown for the Bobcats.

 Rice 20, North Texas 14

Charlie Booker and Aston Walter had touchdown runs in the first half, leading Rice to their second victory of the season. The Mean Green failed to capitalize on forced turnovers and The Owls beat North Texas 20-14 on Saturday.

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Houston Astros get a reminder, and maybe a wake-up call

The Astros are looking to avoid being swept at home. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros are looking to avoid an unexpected sweep Wednesday night as they wrap up their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park.

Winners of six of their last ten despite back-to-back losses, the Astros (55-37) turn to left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) to steady the ship and salvage the finale. Walter has been reliable in his recent outings, and he’ll face a Guardians lineup that has struggled to string together hits, batting just .204 over their last 10 games.

Cleveland (42-48) entered the series on a 10-game losing streak, but now has a chance to sweep the AL West leaders and take the season series. Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56 ERA) gets the start for the Guardians. The 26-year-old righty has kept his ERA under 4.00 this year and will look to neutralize a Houston offense that leads the American League in batting average at .260 and is hitting .295 over the last 10 games.

All eyes remain on Jose Altuve, who has driven in 16 runs and slugged four homers over his last 10 games. He’s been the heartbeat of the Houston offense, while Isaac Paredes continues to deliver steady power at the top of the lineup. The Astros have scored five or more runs in eight of their last ten games, but the bullpen faltered late in both of the first two games of this series.

Cleveland counters with the steady presence of Carlos Santana and the always-dangerous Jose Ramirez. Though Ramirez is just 6-for-38 in his last 10 games, he’s delivered key home runs in the series and remains the Guardians’ biggest threat.

With the season series now 3-2 in favor of Cleveland, Wednesday’s matchup carries added weight for the Astros as they look to regroup and avoid letting momentum slip further. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +121; over/under is 8 runs

Astros lineup for the finale

What stands out? First off, Jake Meyers returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a calf issue. With Meyers back in the two-spot, Cam Smith returns to hitting cleanup. Caratini is playing first base again and hitting fifth, followed by Yainer Diaz (C), Cooper Hummel (DH), Taylor Trammell (LF), and Mauricio Dubon (SS).

 

  Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

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