Saturday NCAA Football Recap
Texas schools keep up the momentum in Week 2
Kalah Winters
Sep 9, 2018, 3:30 pm
Ed Oliver led UH to a massive win over Arizona. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
A major shocker from the Aggies and more of the same dominance from Texas schools in Week 2:
Houston 45, Arizona 18
Arizona approached this game hoping to avoid an 0-2 start to the season but they certainly did not play that way throughout the first half. Hell, even the third quarter was almost a bust for Arizona until the Cougars felt their confidence flair and took out D’Eriq King and Ed Oliver. To say the Wildcats took advantage of Applewhite’s overzealous misstep is an understatement. After being shutout in quarters one and two, the Wildcats started to show signs of a comeback, scoring on a field goal, following-up with 1-yard touchdown run by Darrius Smith, but they never recovered from the game-long uphill battle. Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin has been the talk of the town, for reasons unbeknownst to me, considering their Heisman candidate quarterback has repeatedly giving declining performances since Sumlin’s regime took over. The Cougars whipped the Wildcats on both sides of the field throughout the entire game, but the Houston offense was truly something special. King threw for 246 yards, a career-high 4 touchdowns, and rushed a total of 31 yards for two more scores. The Cougars are battling it out to prove they are definitely the team to watch this season.
TCU 42, SMU 12
It was a slippery Friday night game in Texas that went on far longer than anyone wanted. No. 16 TCU was slated to win but it took the Horned Frogs an entire quarter to get on the board. After the Horned Frogs decided to join the party, they gave SMU the beating we all expected, shutting out SMU for the full second half of the game. KaVontae Turpin ignited his slow-moving teammates with a 78-yard punt return and a 42-yard score for a wet, not so wild, victory over SMU that did not end until early Saturday morning.
Clemson 28, Texas A&M 26
There is no reason for Clemson to not have dropped the hammer down on the Aggies but somehow, some way, A&M managed to stay within arm’s reach of the Tigers throughout Saturday’s game. In fact, the Aggies shut the Tigers out entirely in the fourth quarter. TAMU quarterback Kellen Mond dazzled in the second half, completing three touchdown passes, including at 14-yard pass to sophomore receiver Kendrick Rogers. Clemson will likely take a rating dive as a result of this battle with an unranked opponent. Clemson looks ahead to Georgia Southern next Saturday and opens ACC play the following week at Georgia Tech.
LSU 31, Southeastern Louisiana 0
On the surface, is looks like LSU took Southeastern Louisiana to slaughter but, it is safe to say the Tigers struggled a bit for this 31-0 win over an undermatched opponent.
Texas 28, Tulsa 21
This seems like a time in which we should be celebrating Texas, but let us not get too excited. Texas struggled and lost to a team with no coach last week… However, the Longhorns had one helluva game-winning score when sophomore quarterback, Sam Ellinger, engineered a fourth quarter drive to secure the win against spunky Tulsa for this home victory.
Texas Tech 77, Lamar 0
Red Raider true freshman Alan Bowman threw for 282 yards and two scores, leading his team to a blowout 77-0 victory over Lamar. Keep in mind, this is after 14 penalties for 139 yards against Tech. Usually penalties cost you a game… unless you are Tech playing Lamar.
Baylor 37 , UTSA 20
Baylor is really trying to improve from last year with these two victories so early in the season. Sophomore quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team to victory over UTSA.
Hawaii 43, Rice 29
Sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald put on quite the show as he led Hawaii to their 43-29 victory over Rice. Despite Rice putting up quite the effort against the Houston Cougars last week, they couldn’t pull it off against Hawaii in Week 2.
The Houston Astros closed out a powerful homestand with a statement series win over the Cubs, led by the continued emergence of Cam Smith and the lockdown stuff of Bryan Abreu. Smith, who seems to live for high-leverage moments, went toe-to-toe with Kyle Tucker and delivered again and again, further cementing his place in Houston’s growing offensive core. Meanwhile, Abreu was simply untouchable—striking out all four batters he faced in a lights-out appearance on Thursday and returning Sunday to toss two scoreless innings in front of Josh Hader’s 23rd straight save. The bullpen continues to impress.
As Houston heads west for a six-game road trip, starting with the Rockies and ending with the Dodgers, the rotation will remain under the microscope. On paper, the Rockies series should be a tune-up—Colorado owns the worst record in baseball. But even in a small three-game set, anything can happen. The Dodgers are a different animal entirely. They’ve been the class of the National League and pose a challenge that may mirror what the Astros saw from the Phillies and Cubs—but this time, Houston won’t have the advantage of home field. Considering the team’s elite pitching and recent play, the Astros should still feel confident, but they’ll need to prove they can sustain this level on the road.
Trade speculation is beginning to swirl, particularly around Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins. Mullins hasn’t lit it up this season—he’s hitting just .213—but his 12 home runs suggest some underlying pop. Houston may believe there's untapped potential in his swing that can be unlocked. It's a move that would fit the Astros’ track record: buying low on a talented player and letting their system do the rest.
Speaking of roster decisions, Christian Walker's bat is officially on watch. Despite showing flashes of life earlier this season, Walker hit just .221 in June and has been dropped to seventh in the lineup. Meanwhile, Jon Singleton has been crushing home runs in Sugar Land and waiting patiently for another big-league shot. The organization has to be thinking about giving Singleton a chance if Walker’s struggles continue.
But not every question has an immediate answer. Lance McCullers Jr.’s return from the injured list was rocky at best, surrendering eight runs in a short outing. Still, the reaction from fans calling for his release is premature at best and delusional at worst. Joe Espada left him in too long, and everyone knew it. It's still June, and McCullers is a proven postseason arm. He’s not going anywhere, not with that contract—and frankly, not with the upside he still offers.
More to the story
Then there's Jeremy Peña. The hope was that his sore ribs were nothing serious. That changed after the homestand, when further imaging revealed a small fracture and landed Peña on the 10-day IL. It’s a frustrating development, but credit the Astros’ medical staff for pushing for clarity—learning from the Yordan Alvarez situation this year. With superagent Scott Boras now representing him, it appeared negotiations were over. But Astros GM Dana Brown revealed on the pregame show this weekend that he’s already reached back out to Boras to reopen the conversation. Whether both sides can agree to new terms is a different story.
So while the Astros leave home riding a wave of momentum, the road ahead holds tougher matchups, key roster questions, and new injury concerns. They’ve shown they’re built to weather all of it. Now they’ll have to prove it.
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