A LOOK BACK AT SATURDAY"S NCAA GAMES
Saturday NCAA Football Recap: Texas schools barely clinch victories in Week 5
Kalah Winters
Sep 30, 2018, 1:56 pm
Kyler Murray did not start, but played terrific in a win over Baylor. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The word of the week is ‘sloppy’ but a win is a win, I guess. Here’s what happened:
LSU 45, Mississippi 16
After narrowly escaping defeat at the hands of an undermatched opponent last week, LSU coach Ed Orgeron compared his team to an overconfident fighter who drops their hands and subsequently gets “hit in the face”. This week, however, the Tigers came ready to play and they were out for redemption. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow wreaked havoc on Mississippi as he led his team to a 45-16 victory over the Rebels on Saturday night. The junior quarterback threw for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and rushed for 96 yards and another score, beating Ole’ Miss on the ground and in the air. "LSU used to be a running offense," said receiver Justin Jefferson, who had five catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. "Spreading the ball around like we do now is a very good feeling for this offense, especially the receivers." Freshman receiver Ja’Marr Chase leaped and caught a 21-yard sideline pass from Burrow for the Tiger’s first score of the game. "I'm excited about the play of Joe Burrow," said LSU coach Ed Orgeron. "Joe can make the throws. I know he can make the decisions and I know he can scramble.” Despite LSU dominating most of the game, two LSU turnovers kept the Rebels in the game until late in the third quarter.
Oklahoma 66, Baylor 33
Despite not starting for the Sooners, per team policy for being late to practice Friday, junior quarterback Kyler Murray ran for a score and threw for career-highs of 432 yards and six touchdowns. Murray is now tied with Baker Mayfield’s school record by accounting for seven touchdowns in a game, and his 348 efficiency rating was a school record. "He handled the situation before the game well," Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. "Didn't freak out like I'm sure the rest of America did. It was what it was." Well you can say that again, coach. Junior receiver Marquise Brown caught five passes for 132 yards and two scores, sophomore receiver CeeDee Lamb grabbed three receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown, and freshman running back Kennedy Brooks ran for 107 yards and two scores. Turns out Murray’s own teammates are just as stunned as we are by his playmaking abilities. "I haven't seen anybody else do it better," Lamb said. "He surprises me every week, just like he surprises y'all. I promise.” Sophomore quarterback Charlie Brewer was 38 for 60 with 400 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears, but was sacked six times. The Sooners will face off with the Longhorns in Dallas on Saturday. This will be the first time since 2015 that the Sooners enter the rivalry game undefeated.
West Virginia 42, Texas Tech 34
Red Raider true freshman quarterback Alan Bowman did not return after getting pinned on hits from Ezekiel Rose and Keith Washington as he threw a pass. Senior West Virginia quarterback, Will Grier was 27-of-41 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. Washington stopped a potential rally by Tech with a 51-yard interception return for a score and No. 12 West Virginia remains undefeated with a 42-34 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech.
Texas 19, Kansas State 14
The No. 18 Longhorns were off to a great start on Saturday night. Sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger was 29-of-36 with 207 yards and one touchdown, and defensive back D’Shawn Jamison returned a punt 90 yards for another score, putting the Longhorns up 19-0 by halftime. And that was all she wrote (for the offense anyway). The Longhorns were forced to rely heavily on their defense for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately for Texas, the Wildcats came out a different team in the second half. Sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson threw for 96 yards in relief of ineffective Alex Delton and he led the Wildcats to two touchdowns in the second half. However, after two incompletions with 7:12 to go in the game, the Wildcats’ offense never got another opportunity with the ball. Texas managed to hold down Kansas State for a 19-14 victory. "We won ugly, but the key is we won," Longhorn coach Tom Herman said. "They all look pretty on Sunday morning."
Texas A&M 24, Arkansas 17
What started as a great game, ended as a sloppy mess, according to Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher. "We played in spurts," said Fisher. "We came out and started well, had some great things off the beginning, lost control of the game." A&M had a 17-0 lead in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond threw his second interception of the game. Freshman running back Jashaun Corbin had the first 100-yard kickoff return to start a game for the Aggies since 1994. Junior running back Trayveon Williams ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns but it took a late interception by senior defensive back Donovan Wilson to seal the 24-17 win for the Aggies on Saturday. "Probably played our worst football game of the year by far and need to get things fixed," Fisher said. "Had decent intensity. But our intelligence level, how to play and how to expect to win and play from ahead and do things that champions do and good football teams do, we've got to grow in it."
Wake Forest 56, Rice 24
After giving up 41 points in a loss to Boston College, and another 56 in defeat to Notre Dame, the Demon Deacons desperately needed this win and it showed as they sailed to a (mostly) error-free victory over Rice on Saturday. "To me, it looked like they were having fun," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. "They were playing with emotion. They were flying around. The blitzes looked faster. There was just an energy level out there, and I think they got some confidence from the first few drives." Wake forest was up to a 42-3 lead over the Owls by halftime. Sophomore receiver Greg Dortch finished with 11 receptions for 163 yards and four touchdowns, leading Wake Forest to a 56-24 victory over Rice.
UTSA 30, UTEP 21
Junior quarterback Cordale Grundy was 20-for-35 with 187 yards, two touchdown passes, and one rushing score for the Roadrunners as they held off UTEP for a 30-21 victory in a Conference USA opener on Saturday. UTEP’s school losing streak now stands at 17 straight.
TCU 17, Iowa State 14
"Coach P says whether you win by 50 or win by 1, a win is a win," TCU senior defensive end Ben Banogu said. "I'm glad we got a `W' on the board." This seems to be the trend for Texas schools this week. Banogu returned a fumble 47 yards for a score before missing a critical sack on Iowa State’s game-tying drive. Jonathan Song sealed the 17-14 victory over Iowa State for the Horned Frogs with a 28-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's 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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*ChatGPT assisted.
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