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

Kalah Winters
Nov 24, 2019, 7:26 pm
UH Football/Facebook

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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3 compelling reasons Texans must stick to the script at all costs

It's time for DeMeco and the Texans to draft and develop a quarterback. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

The Texans are poised to turn the franchise around. They have cap room and draft capital. This year and next year's drafts are two of the most important drafts in team history. No, you read that correctly. The only draft more important was the very first. These next two will fight over positions two and three on that list.

Quarterback is the most critical position on the field. When your team has a franchise guy at that position, things tend to fall into place much quicker. Winning is easier. Coaches and general managers keep their jobs when they win. When said QB is on a rookie deal for four to five years (depending on the fifth year option) and is good, the team has more cap flexibility to build around him.

All that being said, the rumors of the Texans doing anything other than selecting a QB in this draft and building around him are crazy. People are talking about all kinds of scenarios now that the combine is done and free agency is upon us. Having a social media account and an opinion seemingly makes people “experts” these days.

First off, the Jimmy Garoppolo rumors are not what's up. If they want to run a bridge QB out there that'll help guide the rookie, they can find a cheaper one. Jimmy G most likely wants a longer term deal with more security. The Texans would offer him some familiarity with the staff, but his time as the guy under center would be limited because of the rookie. Let's say he's interested in coming here on a one year prove-it deal. Let's say he's willing to help groom the rookie. What happens if the rookie is ready to go and Jimmy G has to take a seat? QB controversy is not what you want for a team rebuilding and trying to establish a new culture.

Secondly, taking a QB that requires more grooming, coaching, and time to grow will set this team back further. It'll also raise the questions of whether they took the wrong guy and if they should take a QB when next year's draft rolls around. Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are deemed as the most ready. Will Levis and Anthony Richardson are seen as guys who are intriguing, but may need some work. Young has size/durability concerns. Stroud is seen as a pocket guy who can't make off schedule plays. Levis has a cannon, but turns the ball over and gets sacked too much. Richardson is a big freaky athlete with a booming arm, but it's more musket than sniper rifle. They all have flaws, but Young and Stroud are clearly the top two in my opinion. A team like this wants to win sooner rather than later. DeMeco Ryans doesn't strike me as a guy who'd come here to tank or even delay the winning process. Draft the guy who's most ready.

Last but not least, don't try to fix the defense at the expense of the offense. Especially at the expense of the main offensive piece you need moving forward. There are some defensive studs near the top of this draft. DeMeco is a defensive coach. Giving him weapons on his side of the ball would immediately correct some deficiencies and make this team more competitive. However, Davis Mills is NOT Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, hell, he's not even Rex Grossman at this point. All those guys rode great defenses to Super Bowls. A couple of them won it all. This team doesn't have a game manager type to get them where they need to be. The Jimmy G option might be intriguing if you believe this is the way to go. But this team has too many holes to fill in order to make a move like that. It isn't one this or that away from competing for a title. One of the reasons DeMeco was hired was his ability to get the most out of guys on defense and develop them. He's helped turn mid to low round picks into great players. Use the highest picks to retool the offense and allow DeMeco and his staff to work their magic on defense.

This is a tough decision to make, and it isn't. Two things can be true. The hardest part is not knowing what the Bears will do at number one. Once the Texans are on the clock, hopefully the toughest decision they have left is which QB to take. Get Young or Stroud at number two and roll on. If you want to trade back for more picks, use number 12 for that. Don't overthink this, Nick Caserio. Remember, your job is on the line, so draft/act accordingly.

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