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Saturday NCAA football recap: Quite the rough week for Texas schools… Except Houston
Oct 28, 2018, 1:11 pm
D'Eriq King had a monster game for UH. Tim Warner/Getty Images
After a winning Week 8 for college football in the Lone Star State, Week 9 is filled with disappointment and need for improvement. Here’s how it all went down:
Houston 57, South Florida 36
Don’t sleep on the Cougars! In what was arguably the greatest game of his career, Houston quarterback D’Eriq King completed 28-of-41 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 134 yards and two more scores in Houston’s 57-36 victory over No. 21 South Florida on Saturday. The seven total touchdowns set a career high for the star quarterback. King and the Cougar offense beat South Florida in the air and on the ground. Six Houston rushers ran for a combined 265 yards and the Cougar defense proved themselves capable of making stops and forcing turnovers without Ed Oliver. Oliver missed the first game of his career Saturday with a bruised right knee suffered after what appeared to be a chop block hit in last week’s 49-36 victory over Navy. Houston receiver Marquez Stevenson had six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns and receiver Jeremy Singleton caught five passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. The Cougars won their fifth straight game totaling a season-high 684 yards on offense.
West Virginia 58, Baylor 14
Yikes. After suffering a gut-wrenching 30-14 loss to unranked Iowa State last week, No. 13 West Virginia bounced back with a blowout 58-14 win over Baylor on Thursday night. "We finally played a complete game for four quarters," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. Quarterback Will Grier led the Mountaineers in what is arguably their top offensive performance with 353 yards and three touchdowns. Grier had two touchdown pitches to receiver David Sills and ran for a score during a 31-point second quarter, putting the Mountaineers up 41-0 at halftime. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer was replaced by Jalan McClendon in the second quarter after throwing three interceptions during a scoreless half. "I didn't see it coming," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "I thought our defense hung in there early, as the offense had some uncharacteristic turnovers."
Oklahoma State 38, Texas 35
After back-to-back abysmal performances against Iowa State and Kansas State, some people called for quarterback Taylor Cornelius to be pulled from the starting roster for Oklahoma State. Cornelius rebounded in a major way, completing 23-of-34 passes for 321 yards, three touchdown passes and two running scores. "Corn Dog's a tough guy, he's a competitor," said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy of Cornelius. "He's got a good demeanor, he's tough, he's unselfish, the team loves him. He was good tonight. He needed to come back and do well." Sophomore receiver Tylan Wallace had 10 receptions, 222 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys in their 38-35 win over the sixth-ranked Longhorns on Saturday. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger returned from a shoulder injury to his throwing arm suffered in the Longhorns win over Baylor last week. Ehlinger struggled in the first half, completing only two of his first eight passes for 29 yards in the first quarter of the game, and was just 5-of-15 for 108 yards at the half. Ehlinger found his rhythm in the second half and finished 22-of-42 passing with 283 yards and two touchdowns. "Extremely proud of the way that our guys fought in the second half," Texas coach, Tom Herman said. "When we pulled to within three with 11 minutes left, I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind on that sideline that we were going to win the game. But we didn't, and we didn't play our best down the stretch."
Iowa State 40, Texas Tech 31
Given the way they have been exposing opponents on both sides of the ball, it seems Iowa State has a point to prove. Tech quarterback Alex Bowman was forced into a safety with 4:39 left after he fumbled the snap, retrieved the ball and threw it away with his foot in the end zone. Bowman’s two point mistake was just the spark the Cyclones needed to rally and beat the raiders 40-31 on Saturday. Freshman quarterback Brock Purdy led the charge offensively for the Cyclones, completing 13-of-27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, including a 48-yard TD pass to Hakeem Butler late in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State 28, Texas A&M 13
The Nick Fitzgerald we saw last week against LSU is a stark contrast to the Nick Fitzgerald that led the Bulldogs to a 28-13 win over sixteenth-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday. Fitzgerald threw for 241 yards, two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, giving Mississippi State the offensive boost it needed to bounce back from a miserable loss to LSU. "I'm happy for every single person in our program, but I'm most happy for that kid, because he deserves it," Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said. "That's the way we expect Fitzgerald to play." The surprisingly efficient passing offense for Mississippi State started on the opening drive. Fitzgerald completed 6-of-7 passes for 59 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown toss to Stephen Guidry, putting the Bulldogs up 7-0. Aggie quarterback Kellen Mond was just 23-of-46 passing for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Aggies took a 10-7 lead just before halftime but several dropped passes and a strong Bulldog defense kept the Aggies scoreless in the second half with the exception of a field goal. "We had anywhere from seven to 10 drops off the top of my head and you just can't do that," Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. "It changes the whole dynamic of what you can do. It has a cumulative effect."
Kansas 27, TCU 26
After a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire, Kansas handed TCU its third straight loss on Saturday, beating the Frogs 27-26. Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender finished with 249 yards passing and two touchdown passes to Pooka Williams Jr., leading the Jayhawks to just their second Big 12 victory under embattled coach David Beaty. "It's awesome for everybody, all the stuff we've gone through, all the stuff that's been said, all the naysayers," Jayhawks linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. said. "It's nice to get a win."
North Texas 41, Rice 17
Running back DeAndre Torrey stole the show on Saturday, rushing for 130 yards and four scores as North Texas breezed to a 41-17 victory over Rice. Junior quarterback Mason Fine was 18-for-35 with 333 yards and two touchdowns for the Mean Green.
Texas State 27, New Mexico State 20
Texas State quarterback Willie Jones III threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score, leading the Bobcats to a 27-20 victory over New Mexico State Saturday night.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. 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!
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