Saturday NCAA Football Recap

Texas colleges - but not Texas - dominate in Week 1

Seth Livingston
Kalah Winters
Sep 2, 2018, 11:58 am
Jimbo Fisher is off to a fast start. Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Week 1 saw some expected victories and a few surprises from the Lone Star State:

Houston 45, Rice 27

Trailing 24-17 at the half, it was apparent the Cougars thought they were playing the same team they destroyed in the Bayou Bucket last year. They were not. The Owls dominated the first half but D’Eriq King and the Cougars rallied in the second half for their 45-27. King ran 4 yards in the third quarter, then completed scoring passes of 57 yards to Marquez Stevenson and 18 yards to Courtney Lark. Stevenson displayed dazzling speed in his first game after being out last season due to injury. Patrick Carr included a 37-yard touchdown run to seal the deal for the Cougars in their season opener against their city rivals. It is worth mentioning Aaron Cephus caught a few impossible passes with impeccable situational awareness for the Owls throughout the game on Saturday.

A&M 59, Northwestern State 7

In their season opener, the Northwestern State Demons were simply outmatched against the Aggies. However, NW State quarterback Clay Holgorsen completed 9 passes for 105 yards and one touchdown which should translate to more success when they play other FCS schools. As for the Aggies, they had little trouble in Jimbo Fisher's debut as head coach.

TCU 55, Southern 7

As expected, No. 16 TCU dominated both sides of the field in their 17th consecutive home opening victory. The Horned Frogs were favored to win, obviously, but with their second quarter touchdown, the Jaguars became the first SWAC team to score against TCU.

Maryland 34, Texas 29

Tom Herman had an entire game to prove he could outcoach a team with no coach and somehow the Longhorns still came up short. Maryland dedicated its season to their fellow Terrapin, Jordan McNair, who tragically died of heatstroke during the offseason. Freshman receiver Jeshaun Jones ran for a score, threw for a score, and caught a 65-yard touchdown pass, playing a pivotal role in Maryland’s victory. Interim coach Matt Canada was full of pride during his post-game interview. “I just can't say enough about our players, everything they've been through and the way they stuck together,” Canada said. The Terrapins came to play but the Longhorns essentially beat themselves. In addition to three turnovers, Texas committed 10 penalties for 102 yards.

Rutgers 35, Texas State 7

“It’s been three years to get here,” Rutgers coach Chris Ash said on starting with a win for the first time in his tenure. Running backs Raheem Blackshear and Jonathan Hillman had two touchdowns apiece, leading Rutgers to their 35-7 win over Texas State.

Mississippi 47, Texas Tech 27

Mississippi racked up more than 500 yards in the blowout of Texas Tech on Saturday. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns, leading Ole’ Miss to their 47-27 victory over Tech

Baylor 55, Abilene Christian 27

The Bears snapped their eight-game home losing streak in their 55-27 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday evening. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer and Jalan McClendon threw for a combined 311 yards, leading the Bears to victory.










 

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Houston now focused on postseason

Altuve and Correa homer, Astros drop final regular-season game

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With no playoff impact at stake if the Astros won or lost the game, Houston took Sunday's final regular-season game as a chance to get their lineup a few more at-bats before shifting focus to Tuesday's first game of the post-season. Here is a quick recap of the game against the Rangers:

Final Score: Rangers 8, Astros 4.

Record: 29-31, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Wes Benjamin (2-1, 4.84 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Chase De Jong (0-1, 14.73 ERA).

Houston's main bats get a final tune-up

Knowing they'd only have a couple of at-bats to work with, some of Houston's big bats took advantage, starting with Jose Altuve. He crushed a pitch in the top of the first, a solo homer to put the Astros in front 1-0. After the Rangers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second, Altuve started the third with a walk before moving to third base on a Michael Brantley single, which improved Brantley's season average to .300.

Aledmys Diaz would pick up the RBI on a groundout to score Altuve, putting Houston back in front 2-1. In Correa's last at-bat in the top of the fourth, he extended the lead to 3-1 with a solo home run of his own.

Rangers hand Astros a loss to end the regular season

After getting the early run against Chase De Jong, the Rangers would put together a big inning against him in the fourth. After two one-out singles, Rougned Odor would give Texas their first lead of the day on a three-run homer to make it 4-3.

De Jong would continue to struggle in the inning, getting just one more out while loading the bases, prompting a move to the bullpen to bring in Nivaldo Rodriguez to try and eat up more innings. The Rangers greeted him with a two-RBI single to extend their lead to 6-3 before ending the fourth. Odor would hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, a solo shot to make it a four-run lead at 7-3.

Rodriguez allowed another run in the bottom of the seventh, making it 8-3. Diaz, who drove in a run earlier, would account for another RBI in the top of the eighth, getting Houston's third solo homer of the day. That would make it an 8-4 game, which would go final as the Rangers would win the regular season's last game.

Up Next: Houston's first game of the playoffs will be on Tuesday, with the start time and opponent TBD while the rest of today's games wrap up, and the schedule is announced. Regardless, the Astros are expected to begin that best-of-three series with Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

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