The Lone Star Update

Photo Credit: ESPN

Rivalries and conference openers galore! Here are the recaps and power rankings of the Lone Star State from week four.

Baylor Bears (2-2)
Colorado def. Baylor

Baylor lost in heartbreaking fashion, blowing a last-second lead in the fourth before ultimately falling in overtime. Sawyer Robertson was 11 for 21 with 148 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading the team with 82 rushing yards and a score. He was ultimately outplayed by Shadeur Sanders, who had 341 passing yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked eight times. Seven different Bears tracked down Sanders, with Steve Linton getting two sacks and a forced fumble.

In the first quarter, Baylor’s only score came off the foot of Isaiah Hankins, and Colorado only put up seven thanks to a Sanders rushing touchdown. Robertson found Monoray Baldwin to take the lead, but Colorado quickly tied it with a field goal. Following the field goal, return man Jamaal Bell took the kickoff 100 yards for a Bears score, and one drive later Robertson scrambled 45 yards to make it a 24-10 Baylor lead. Sanders launched a pass to Omarion Miller, who ran it in an extra 30 yards to make the score 24-17 at half.

The Buffs tied it in the third, but Baylor held a one-touchdown lead with 0:02 left in the fourth after Robertson’s second passing touchdown. Down to their last limb, Colorado pulled off a miracle, as Sanders scrambled out of the pocket and heaved a 43-yard hail mary, which LaJohntay Wester snared to force overtime. With momentum on their side, Colorado took home the victory, dropping Baylor to 2-2 and 0-1 in Big XII play. The Bears will try to bounce back against the undefeated BYU Cougars.

Houston Cougars (1-3)
Cincinnati def. Houston

Houston was thrashed by Cincinnati, failing to muster a point in the 0-34 loss. Donovan Smith accumulated just 73 passing yards on 16 attempts and had one interception. Re’Shaun Sanford was the Coogs’ leading rusher, gaining 62 yards on six carries. On defense, AJ Haulcy racked up an impressive 11 total tackles. There was nothing else impressive about Houston, though, as they surrendered two touchdowns in the first quarter and a touchdown and a field goal in the second. In the second half, Cincinnati tacked on another 10 points. Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby was clinical all game, completing 12 of 15 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Now 0-1 in the Big XII, Houston will play at home on Saturday against the 18th-ranked Iowa State, a match-up that will test the struggling Cougars.

North Texas Mean Green (3-1)
UNT def. Wyoming 44-17

UNT got back on track against the dismal Wyoming Cowboys, winning 44-17 at home. Chandler Morris had another 300-yard game, completing 28 of 41 passes and throwing for two touchdowns. Shane Porter wreaked havoc on the ground, compiling 120 yards on only 13 attempts, but it was redshirt freshman Makenzie McGill who got the scores, breaking the plane on three different occasions. Wyoming showed some fight in the first half, drilling a field goal in the first quarter then scoring two touchdowns in the second. The Mean Green still outpaced the Cowboys; Kali Nguma had a field goal in each quarter, McGill got his first score, and Morris found DT Sheffield and Blair Conwright for a 27-17 halftime lead.

After the break, the North Texas defense held firm, allowing a mere 60 yards the entire second half. McGill found the end zone twice more, and a final Nguma kick brought UNT’s tally up to 44. UNT will begin their quest for an AAC title against Tulsa in week five.

North Texas Mean Green (3-1)
UNT def. Wyoming 44-17

UNT got back on track against the dismal Wyoming Cowboys, winning 44-17 at home. Chandler Morris had another 300-yard game, completing 28 of 41 passes and throwing for two touchdowns. Shane Porter wreaked havoc on the ground, compiling 120 yards on only 13 attempts, but it was redshirt freshman Makenzie McGill who got the scores, breaking the plane on three different occasions. Wyoming showed some fight in the first half, drilling a field goal in the first quarter then scoring two touchdowns in the second. The Mean Green still outpaced the Cowboys; Kali Nguma had a field goal in each quarter, McGill got his first score, and Morris found DT Sheffield and Blair Conwright for a 27-17 halftime lead.

After the break, the North Texas defense held firm, allowing a mere 60 yards the entire second half. McGill found the end zone twice more, and a final Nguma kick brought UNT’s tally up to 44. UNT will begin their quest for an AAC title against Tulsa in week five.

North Texas Mean Green (3-1)
UNT def. Wyoming 44-17

UNT got back on track against the dismal Wyoming Cowboys, winning 44-17 at home. Chandler Morris had another 300-yard game, completing 28 of 41 passes and throwing for two touchdowns. Shane Porter wreaked havoc on the ground, compiling 120 yards on only 13 attempts, but it was redshirt freshman Makenzie McGill who got the scores, breaking the plane on three different occasions. Wyoming showed some fight in the first half, drilling a field goal in the first quarter and scoring two touchdowns in the second. The Mean Green still outpaced the Cowboys; Kali Nguma had a field goal in each quarter, McGill got his first score, and Morris found DT Sheffield and Blair Conwright for a 27-17 halftime lead.

After the break, the North Texas defense held firm, allowing a mere 60 yards the entire second half. McGill found the end zone twice more, and a final Nguma kick brought UNT’s tally up to 44. UNT will begin their quest for an AAC title against Tulsa in week five.

SMU Mustangs (3-1)
SMU def. TCU 66-42
See TCU below.

TCU Horned Frogs (2-2)
SMU def. TCU 66-42

SMU set a school record for points scored in the Iron Skillet in a 66-42 thrashing of TCU. Running back Brashard Smith dashed for 127 yards and three scores, with a receiving touchdown to boot. Kevin Jennings was efficient in his first start of the season, completing 14 of 19 passes for 137 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. The TCU offense did turn the ball over though—five times, to be exact. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two fumbles and two interceptions. Jack Bech had a great day for the Horned Frogs, collecting eight passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

The Mustangs jumped out to a rapid 17-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring a 51-yard field goal on their opening drive, then scoring two quick touchdowns on a fumble recovery scoop-and-score by Brandon Crossley and an electric 69-yard punt return touchdown by Roderick Daniels Jr. TCU rallied with rushing touchdowns by both Hoover and Cam Cook to start the second quarter. Smith got his first touchdown of the evening to extend the Pony lead, then after one more TCU score, the Pony Express opened the floodgates. Jordan Hudson caught a ten-yard touchdown, then safety Ahmad Moses took an interception to the house from 60 yards out. Collin Rogers got his second field goal for a 41-21 lead at half.

The second half was no better for TCU, as head coach Sonny Dykes was ejected for two straight unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at the start of the half. Smith had three second-half touchdowns, and the SMU defense forced three third-quarter turnovers. SMU cruised to an easy win against the rival Horned Frogs, and now look ahead to the start of ACC play with a home match against Florida State. TCU will try to snap a two-game skid against Kansas.

Texas Longhorns (4-0)
Texas def. UL Monroe 51-3

Arch Manning made his first career collegiate start in the Longhorns’ 51-3 rout of the UL Monroe Warhawks. He completed 15 of 29 passes for 259 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jaydon Blue was the offensive star of the game for UT, churning out 124 yards and three scores on 25 carries and collecting another touchdown in the air. The Warhawks were limited to 111 total offensive yards and threw two picks of their own. Manning was picked off on the first drive of the game but rebounded quickly, leading four straight successful scoring drives. Three of the touchdowns were Blue’s, but true freshman Ryan Wingo also hauled in a 17-yard touchdown of his own. UT went into the half up 28-3. In the second half, Texas drove to the goal line and steamrolled into the end zone on three separate occasions, scoring from within the two-yard line on all three touchdowns. Longhorn linebacker Liona Lefau accumulated seven tackles, including a sack and a safety on a failed Ozarrio Smith rush. UL Monroe couldn’t put up any more points, and the Longhorns came away victorious. Texas takes a 51-3 win, a 4-0 record, and a first-place ranking into their first SEC game, a home game against the 1-3 Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Texas A&M Aggies (3-1)
Texas A&M def. Bowling Green 26-20

Texas A&M escaped a near-upset at home against the Bowling Green Falcons. Marcel Reed led the way with 173 passing yards and 91 rushing yards. Le’Veon Moss had a 90-yard rushing performance, and Jahdae Walker topped the receiving corps with 45 yards and a score. On Bowling Green’s side, Connor Bazelak completed 20 of 36 for 250 yards, throwing a touchdown and a pick. Reed found Theo Melin Öhrström up the seam on the first drive of the game for a 27-yard score. That would prove to be the only points of the first, as Bowling Green didn’t light up the scoreboard until hitting a 33-yard field goal at the start of the second. Texas A&M kicker Randy Bond responded with two of his own, hitting from 28 and 29 yards. The Aggies’ last drive drained over six minutes of clock, preventing Bowling Green from getting the ball again until the second half. They made the most of their first drive, though, as Bazelak connected with Harold Fannin Jr. for a 65-yard touchdown on the first play of the half. Now only up 13-10, Reed hit Walker in the end zone to pad the Aggie lead. Bowling Green was tenacious, though, and on their next drive junior Rakheem Smith broke away for a 40-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Bond drained two more field goals, one from 34 yards and the other from 42. All Bowling Green could accomplish was a field goal in the closing seconds of the game. Marcus Ratcliffe had a massive interception in the fourth, nabbing a Bazelak pass on A&M’s own 15-yard line on what could have been the deciding touchdown. The Aggies now head to Dallas to take on Arkansas at AT&T Stadium as the 24th-ranked team in the country.

Texas State Bobcats (2-1)
BYE WEEK

Texas State will return from their week four bye to play the Sam Houston State Bearkats in NRG Stadium in Houston. Sam Houston is coming off a strong win against New Mexico State, whereas Texas State lost narrowly to Arizona State in week three.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1)
Texas Tech def. Arizona State 30-22

Behren Morton (24-44, 201 YDS, 2 TD) and Tahj Brooks (27 ATT, 117 YDS) led the Red Raiders to a conference win over the Arizona State Sun Devils. Despite an impressive showing from Cam Skattebo, who had 177 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, the Texas Tech defense held an Arizona State team that was averaging roughly 36 points a game to 22 points. Tech had an ideal start, scoring on the first drive of the game and then intercepting Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt to set up a Morton to Josh Kelly touchdown. CJ Baskerville was responsible for the interception. In the second quarter, ASU cleaned things up to cut Tech’s lead to 14-10. In the third, Jalin Conyers scored on a three-yard rush to add to the Red Raider lead, but Skattebo responded with a three-yard run of his own. Two different Texas Tech kickers converted field goals in the fourth, making Skattebo’s second touchdown not enough for a win. Texas Tech is now 1-0 in the Big XII and will face a strong Cincinnati squad in week five.

UTEP Miners (0-4)
Colorado State def. UTEP 27-17

UTEP remains winless following a loss at the hands of the Colorado State Rams. After another weak start by Skyler Locklear (7-15, 56 YDS, INT), UTEP moved down the depth chart to redshirt junior quarterback Cade McConnell, who played a much stronger game (19-29, 220 YDS, 2 TD). Receiver Kenny Odom had a great performance, scoring twice with 128 yards on just seven receptions. Bryton Thompson, Dorian Hopkins, and Nate Dyman all had double-digit tackle tallies for the Miners. Colorado State took a first-half lead on two Avery Morrow rushing touchdowns, sandwiching UTEP’s lone score of the first half, a Buzz Flabiano 45-yard kick. At half, UTEP made the switch to McConnell and immediately saw improvement, scoring twice on six drives. It wouldn’t be enough to surpass the Rams, unfortunately, and UTEP dropped to 0-4.

Head coach Scotty Walden announced that McConnell will be the starter going forward and will have an extra week of practice with McConnell at the helm before facing off against Sam Houston in a Thursday night home game.

UTSA Roadrunners (2-2)
UTSA def. Houston Christian 45-7

UTSA got a much-needed bounce-back win against FCS opponent Houston Christian University. Owen McCown passed for 226 yards and three touchdowns on 18 of 25 passing. He was complemented by a great running game, moving the ball 269 yards on 51 attempts. In the first half alone, UTSA posted 30 points, which the Huskies could only combat with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Jessie Valenzuela. In the second half, the Roadrunners put in numerous backups, leading to a decrease in points scored. Kevorian Barnes found the end zone, and backup quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger tossed a touchdown to Jamel Hardy. UTSA’s defense only allowed seven points, thanks in large part to a stout run defense and a few big plays. Jimmori Robinson had seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick, and Owen Pewee added a sack and a forced fumble of his own. UTSA takes on East Carolina to open play in the American, in which UTSA placed third last season.

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