Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:
Saturday NCAA Football Recap: Texas teams win big in Week 11; LSU holds off Alabama
Nov 10, 2019, 1:30 pm
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LSU 46, Alabama 41
Joe "Superman" Burrow completed 31-of-39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns, leading the first ranked Tigers to a wild win over No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. 'Bama rallied from a 33-13 halftime deficit to put the Crimson Tide within a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The game lived up to the hype as a duel between high-powered offenses and star quarterbacks. "He's one of the best we've had here," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said of Burrow. "But we've still got four games left and we're going down the road, we're going to try to win every game and we're going to bring a championship back to Louisiana." 20 days after ankle surgery, Alabama quarterback Tug Tagovailoa was 21-of-40 for 418 yards and four touchdowns with an interception and a fumble. Tagovailoa was called a "game-time decision" all week and appeared to be limping after the game, but he kept Alabama in the game. "He said he could play in the game, he wanted to play in the game and he thought he could go out and do a good job," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I think he was a warrior in terms of what he did." LSU faces Mississippi on the road Saturday night.
Texas 27, Kansas State 24
Once again, kicker Cameron Dicker bailed the Longhorns out with a game-winning field goal. Dicker's flawless 27-yarder lifted Texas to a 27-24 victory over Kansas State on Saturday. "It could have been a really, really bad scene," Texas coach Tom Herman said. "The win is obviously very important for us. The way that it happened, to be down 14-0 in the blink of an eye ... We put ourselves on the ropes (this season) and we took a step toward swinging and scratching and clawing our way off." Dicker has now kicked two game-winners on the final play this season. The first came on a 33-yarder to beat Kansas on Oct. 19. Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson threw for a career-high 253 yards most of which came in the first quarter. Thompson passed for just 36 yards in the second half. "I thought he hung in there really well," Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. "They were bringing pressure and we were barely getting guys free." The Texas defense looked better than it had all season with a secondary return from All-Big 12 safety Caden Sterns. The secondary didn't force any interception but it kept the opposing receivers from running wide open all over the field. "We showed you all that this is what happens when we're fully healthy," Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn said. "This is a great team. Our defense is really good. We've just been hurt." Texas is on the road against Iowa State No. 16.
Baylor 29, TCU 23
No. 11 Baylor needed three overtimes to hold off TCU and get its 11th consecutive victory. Receiver Denzel Mims made a leaping 4-yard touchdown for the Bears to beat TCU 29-23 on Saturday. Mims matched his three touchdown receptions in regulation with three more in overtime, including a lunging grab for a 20-yard score on fourth down in the second overtime. "I knew it was crunch time and it was time for like grown-man football," said Mims. After being shut out in the first half, Baylor needed kicker John Mayers' 51-yard field goal just to stay in the game with 36 seconds left in regulation. This is the seventh time in two seasons that Baylor has won after a fourth-quarter comeback and the 11th straight win for the Bears since losing to TCU last November. The offensive struggles for the Bears continue as the sole undefeated team in the Big 12 managed only 294 total yards of offense, 90 of which came in overtime. "Winning is never ugly," Rhule said. "I've lost a lot, and I'll take this any day of the week." Baylor hosts No. 9 Oklahoma in a huge Big 12 matchup on Saturday. TCU is on the road Saturday against Texas Tech.
Texas Tech 38, West Virginia 17
Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey threw for one touchdown and moved the offense at will to beat West Virginia 38-17 on Saturday, handing the Mountaineers their fifth consecutive loss. Duffey's touchdown boosts his total scores to 10 after taking over for the injured Alan Bowman in mid-September. Duffey finished 24-of-34 for 354 yards passing. West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall was intercepted twice and fumbled the ball on fourth down in the first quarter. West Virginia's losing streak is its worst since losing five straight in 2012. Texas Tech hosts TCU nest Saturday.
Texas State 30, South Alabama 28
Texas State kicker Joshua Rowland drilled a 31-yarder late in fourth quarter lifting the Bobcats to a 30-28 victory over South Alabama on Saturday. Quarterback Tyler Vitt completed 23-of-33 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Bobcats first win of the season.
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The phrase most associated with the late former Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was “Just win baby.” One has to think Al would strongly approve of the Houston Astros. Going to the fifth inning Sunday against the Mariners the Astros were facing a 3-0 deficit and staring at the prospect of being swept out of Seattle and having their American League West division lead slashed to just two games. Now after roaring from behind with 11 unanswered runs to take the series finale in the Emerald City, and then sweeping three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the Astros stand six games up with 60 games to go. So, if the Astros play just .500 ball the rest of the way (which would have them finish with 90 victories), the Mariners have to play .600 ball to catch them. If somehow the Astros are to maintain their season long win pace to the finish line they’d close with 95 wins, and the race is already over unless someone thinks the M’s are poised to uncork a finishing kick of 41-19 or better. It’s quite a pleasing perch from which the Astros survey the standings. Coupled with the freefalling Detroit Tigers having dropped nine of their last ten games, the Astros amazingly start this homestand sporting the best record in the entire American League. On the homestand they follow four games against the team with the second-worst record in the American League (Athletics) with three versus the team with the second-worst record in the National League (Nationals). I know, I know. There is fear of the Astros playing down to the competition, but that is not the way to look at it. A bad Major League team can beat a good team in a series at any time. If it happens it happens, but it wouldn’t mean it happened only because the Astros didn’t take their opponent seriously. This isn’t the NBA.
Trade deadline looming
Of course, It hasn’t been all good news with Isaac Paredes badly injuring a hamstring Sunday. Paredes could be back in three weeks (doubtful), he could miss the rest of the season. GET WELL SOON JEREMY PENA! Lance McCullers’s latest Injured List stint could be considered addition by subtraction for the Astros’ starting rotation. Whether impacted by his blister issue, Lance was lousy in four of his last five starts. So, one week from the trade deadline, if general manager Dana Brown has the ammo to get one deal done, where does he make the upgrade? The left-handed hitter everyone knows the Astros can use regardless of Yordan Alvarez’s status is a natural priority. With the Astros’ weak farm system it would seem difficult for Brown to put forth the winning offer for the top bats that could be in play. That probably rings even truer now, since if he wasn’t already untouchable, Brice Matthews may have cemented untouchable status by darn near winning the first two games of the Diamondbacks series by himself. Matthews is going to struggle mightily to hit for a good average if he can’t make notable improvement in the contact department, but the power is obvious, as is the athleticism in the field. The 23-year-old Matthews and 22-year-old Cam Smith (though presently mired in a three for 36 slump) are the clear (and right now only) two young shining beacons for the lineup’s future.
You can't have enough pitching
While Brandon Walter has been a revelation, a starting pitcher would make sense unless the decision is to hope Spencer Arrighetti and/or Cristian Javier can contribute meaningfully upon return to the big leagues, likely sometime next month. Going after a reliever or two may make more sense in terms of availability and transaction cost. Overall the Astros’ bullpen has been excellent, but Bryan Abreu is the only trustworthy right-handed option for Joe Espada. Back to Walter. Barely two months ago no way Walter himself would have believed he’d be where he is now. Nine starts since being summoned basically out of desperation, Walter has a 3.35 earned run average, and a stunning 13 to one strikeout-to-walk ratio with his 52 strikeouts against a measly four walks allowed in 53 2/3 innings. Walter has pitched fabulously in seven of his nine starts. He only has two wins, but that’s because in five of the six Walter starts the Astros didn’t win the game they failed to score more than two runs. Walter turns 29 years old in September. His only prior big league experience was 23 innings in relief with a 6.26 ERA for the Red Sox two years ago. The Bosox released him last August, the Astros signed him basically as minor league depth. Look at him (and the Astros) now.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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