College football rewind

Saturday NCAA recap: Another rough week for Texas schools

Saturday NCAA recap: Another rough week for Texas schools
TCU has had no problems this season. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

After a sad Week 7 for college football in the Lone Star State, Week 8 is filled with much of the same; disappointment and serious need for improvement.

Memphis 42, Houston 38

Coming off of a major victory after handing previously ranked Navy their first loss of the season, the Memphis Tigers were eager to prove they deserved their spot on the top 25 and they did not disappoint. The Cougars were airtight during the first half, securing a 10-0 lead by the end of then second quarter. However, after returning to the field in the second half, the Tigers obliterated the Cougars, scoring 21 points in both the third and fourth quarters in this road win over Houston.

TCU 43, Kansas 0

As expected, TCU dominated both sides of the field in this home victory over Kansas. No. 4 TCU was favored to win, obviously, but it was almost as if Kansas was absent from the field. The Jayhawks’ 44th consecutive road game loss tied an 81-year-old NCAA record.

Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10

UT certainly improved with the season’s progression, but so has Oklahoma State. OSU took the lead late in the first quarter after a 7-yard touchdown run by J.D. King. The Longhorns tied the game in the second quarter with a 2-yard run by Sam Ehlinger. UT Head Coach Tom Herman ran a strong defense but it was not enough to stop OSU. The Longhorns were defeated in overtime.

West Virginia 38, Baylor 36

West Virginia narrowly escaped defeat in a tough road game against a Baylor offense led by scrambling freshman quarterback, Charlie Brewer.

Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 13

According to Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, Texas Tech did not live up to the loyalty of their fans in Saturday’s loss against the Cyclones, which pinned down the unusually low-producing Tech offense early on in this easy victory.

UT San Antonio 20, Rice 7

UTSA took an early lead over the Owls, scoring 10 points in both the first and third quarters in this home victory.

LSU 40, Mississippi 24

Darius Guice had a monster game as the Tigers rolled to another win.










 

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome